


You Were My Magic

by GreenEyedSinisterPants



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Ancient!Arthur, Arthur Knows About Merlin's Magic, Arthur doesn't understand modern times, BAMF Merlin, Bottom Arthur, Bottom Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Bottom Merlin, Boys In Love, BoyxBoy, Camelot, Friends to Lovers, Friendship/Love, I Will Go Down With This Ship, Immortal Merlin, Love, M/M, Magic, Mentions of past Camelot characters, Merthur - Freeform, Modern!Merlin, Pining Merlin, Temporarily Unrequited Love, Time Travel, Top Arthur, Top Merlin, arthur returned, awkward!arthur, rich!Merlin, will tag more later
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-19
Updated: 2017-07-31
Packaged: 2018-04-05 04:13:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 29,994
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4165356
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GreenEyedSinisterPants/pseuds/GreenEyedSinisterPants
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sometimes love lasts forever even if it's one sided.<br/>Here is the story of Merlin, his life after he was cheated out of his passage to Avalon and the one person he ever truly loved.</p>
<p>Forever is an awfully long time when one has to live it alone.<br/>Even if one is the greatest warlock that ever lived.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Merlin collapsed to his knees at the lake’s edge, hands buried in the sand as he clenched them into fists. Bereft. He was supposed to be able to join Arthur in Avalon once he had accomplished the things he was supposed to. The loose ends that needed to be taken care of, stuff that had to be cared for with Arthur’s absence. That had been the deal. The two of them were supposed to spend the rest of the foreseeable future together on the island of Avalon until the world had need of Arthur again. That had been the promise given to him! The dragon had promised him. PROMISED! And as he sat here in the sand at the water’s edge the water spanned before him into the horizon, endless lapping water. No mists lifting, no empty boat to carry him, no lone magical island in the distance waiting for him. Nothing. He had done everything asked of him and he was being cheated of his reward. The one thing he had been looking forward to, the one thing that had gotten him through all his trials and tribulations. All the blood, sweat, tears, lying, near dying -it had all been for this ending. This forever. And now he was being shut out. What was he supposed to do? Just go on? Go on like nothing had happened? Like he hadn’t lived through what he had lived through? Go on without finally being able to tell Arthur the biggest secret he had kept from his lord, from his king, from his best friend? The secret bigger than his magic.

“What am I supposed to do without you now?” Merlin whispered into his empty sandy hands, resting on knees not knowing what to do with them.

“You are supposed to live on,” a familiar voice wafted through his mind.

“Live on? Live ON? How am I supposed to live on without him? He has been my whole life for so long, everything I did was for him. I don’t know how to breathe without him. He was my magic…” Merlin trailed off as he clenched and un-clenched his hands, watching his lithe fingers move without knowing what to do with them.

“When Arthur returns it will be because the world has need of him. A world that he will not understand. He will need someone to take his hand and lead him through the unknown,” the dragon spoke again in Merlin’s head.

“So I’m supposed to live out my life hoping that the world needs him before I die. That’s lovely. I’d rather not. I’d rather just end it now instead of waiting and hoping and then dying alone. Or worse, having Arthur come back as Arthur and I be an old shell of a man at the end of his life,” Merlin scoffed, feeling rather ticked off at the dragon.

“I did not say you would grow old and die Emyrs,” the dragon drawled in his mind.

“Yeah, you didn’t. But then again you promised me I would go to Arthur when I was done here. It’s been two years since I sent him out on that boat to that damn forsaken island. Everything tidied up with a bow on top, all loose ends taken care of. And yet here I sit, a promise broken and a vague uncertain future being promised to me by the one being who just broke his word to me not moments before!” Merlin shouted into the air around him.

“Live Merlin. Live life unending and when the time is right he will be back. And your king will have need of you once more,” the dragon promised, the smell of magic tinging the air like sulfur.

“Wonderful. Here’s to an eternity of waiting alone to maybe one day say I love you,” Merlin whispered with a broken heart as he watched his hands and body before him glow gold with magic not his own.

“He was my magic…” Merlin sighed, voice bare above a whisper as the magic settled into his skin.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes love lasts forever even if it's one sided.  
> Here is the story of Merlin, his life after he was cheated out of his passage to Avalon and the one person he ever truly loved.
> 
> Forever is an awfully long time when one has to live it alone.  
> Even if one is the greatest warlock that ever lived.

An alarm went off across the room and the body buried beneath piles of blankets shifted and groaned. The incessant noise continued until as if by magic it flew across the room and smashed against a wall. The body twisted and turned side to side before a dark haired head popped out and angrily slammed on top of the pillows it had been buried under moments before.

“I guess magic defeats the purpose of putting ones alarm clock so far away,” Merlin grumbled before a yawn cut off his thought process. 

Stretching his lanky limbs away from him Merlin worked out the kinks of sleep that were making his limbs heavy. As they fell back down to the bed Merlin cracked an eye and stared at the alarm clock bits and pieces and sighed. Reaching for his cell phone he swiped it on to see the time, though truth be told if his alarm had gone off he already knew what time it was. But he liked the confirmation in numbers, it gave him something else to hate. Merlin frowned at the glowing white numbers that read six thirty before putting his phone down. He curled up on his side and tried to go back to sleep, willing his body to lose itself in slumber. As his eyelids closed, heavy still, his dream from earlier came back to him. With a choked sob Merlin buried his face in his pillow and forgot all about sleeping. When the warlock dreamed it was always of one thing, and that one thing always led to one of two things -a raging hard on or tear soaked sheets. As Merlin rubbed his eyes and sniffed he sat up and pulled back his duvet and various other blankets. He looked down at his lap as he sniffed back his tears once again.

“Looks like today is having a special two for one combo,” Merlin groaned at the tent in his boxers. There was nothing worse than giving oneself a sad hand job, but if Merlin wanted to get up and go about his day then that’s what he needed to do because it wasn’t going to go away on its own. With a sigh Merlin lay back down in his bed, body void of his previous layers of blankets as he palmed himself over his boxers. He felt his dick twitch at the familiar and wanted pressure, that sinful contact that he needed so bad at times like these.

“Arthur,” Merlin whispered, barely a sound escaping his lips before biting his bottom lip to keep his tears at bay. It was one thing to give oneself a sad hand job, it was another thing to cry during it.

As blonde hair and pale blue eyes came to Merlin’s mind he slipped his hand into his underwear and wrapped his lithe fingers around his now rock hard self. He picked up the pace as he went through his memories of Arthur, all his smiles, the way his laugh sounded. A warlock’s memory was a curse and yet sometimes a gift, especially in times like these. No one ever wanted a sad hand job to last longer than it needed to, the quicker it was over the better. Merlin allowed his memories to travel to the countless times he would wake his once and future king from sleep, only to have the royal Prat sit up in bed half naked. Merlin groaned and bucked into his hand as his mind ran through images of Arthur standing shirtless in a sun beam, the yellow light reflecting off the Prince’s golden skin. He picked up his pace as he thought of the countless times he had watched Arthur bathe, be it in a stream while on a quest or in the tub Merlin had toiled to fill in his chambers. As Merlin’s breathing became heavy and broken he knew his release was soon at end, he just needed that one last push. He brought up one of his most cherished memories, the feel of Arthur’s hand on his shoulder and the smile he would give his manservant that Merlin _knew_ was only for him and _no_ one else.

Merlin came with a shudder and Arthur’s name ghosting across his lips. With a choked back sob Merlin reached down to grab the dirty towel on the floor beside his bed to clean himself up with. Once his mess was gone from his chest and from his hand he dropped it back down where he had gotten it before curling into the fetal position and finally letting the tears come. And come they did, big large awful tears that drenched his pillowcase as terribly ugly sobs broke from his throat and threatened to run him hoarse. For thousands of years the ache had sat inside Merlin, sat and smoldered, eating away at his sanity and grip on life. The world’s greatest warlock couldn’t even heal his own broken heart. With a shuddering sob that wracked his thin body Merlin finally slumped back into a dreamless sleep.

Hours later it was the god awful constant ringing of his cell phone that woke him from his restless sleep. Merlin reached out for the terrible device with eyes closed before swiping it on and bringing it to his ear. 

“Hello?” Merlin croaked, voice grated from sleep and crying.

“Merlinwherethehellareyouyouweresupposedtobeherehoursago!” a voice shrilled at Merlin from the other end.

“What time is it Mindy?” Merlin croaked in question without bothering to open his eyes.

“It’s almost noon you idiot! The CEO’s will be here at noon for that damn meeting and you’re nowhere in sight!” Mindy screeched. Merlin could swear he could hear her biting her nails in nervousness.

“Well then the meeting starts without me. I’ll get there, just calm down,” Merlin croaked out with a sigh as he opened his eyes to rub the sleep from them.

“You don’t sound so hot, are you sick Merlin?” Mindy asked, her voice taking on an actual note of concern.

“I’ll be fine. Just call a car for me will you?” Merlin asked as he sat up and kicked away the covers that had somehow migrated back to his body when he had passed out.

“Sure thing Merlin,” Mindy said with a verbal smile on her end.

“Thanks,” Merlin answered before ending the call and tossing his phone to the end of his bed.

It wasn’t that Merlin really had to go into work all that much anymore, the centuries upon centuries of living he had done had taught him a thing or two. He had invested hundreds of years ago in a few smart choices and had eventually started his own company. An architectural company Merlin had named Albion. It had taken a lot of tricky footwork, a lot of careful planning and well placed lies to allow Merlin to pull it all off. But after the first thousand years or so Merlin had grown tired of having to constantly move or live under a rock to avoid suspicion when he never aged. He’d faked aging a few times since starting his company, allowing himself to “die” so a new younger relative could take over. Which meant on occasion Merlin had to go by another name for a regular lifespan or so so his next “reincarnation” could be called Merlin with the excuse that it was a family name and tradition. He also learned how to run a business without actually having to be around and by this point in the twenty first century he almost never had to be there or seen. But every once in a while he had to show up, be the face of Albion and do what needed to be done. But it was worth it, because being obscenely rich made his weird and eccentric lifestyle not only possible but acceptable to the world as well.

With a groan and creaking body parts Merlin lifted himself off his bed and plodded his way to his en suite bathroom. There were certain luxuries of the new world that he particularly liked, indoor plumbing was one of them and in this day and age people sure did love inventing new and luxurious ways of utilizing that. Another was the invention of jeans, and zippers. No more ridiculous laces or itchy fabric that wore through ever so easily or never kept out the cold. Jeans and zippers were a blessing of the modern world he liked very much. Turning on his absurd shower Merlin looked at his face in the mirror as he waited for the water to get hot. There were circles and bags under his eyes, a certain hollow quality to his cheeks that were more than likely going to raise an alarmed eyebrow from his secretary and friend Mindy when he got into work. But Merlin couldn’t help it, he never slept well. He hadn’t in many, many centuries. Thousands of years since that fateful day on the beach on the lake of Avalon and what Merlin wanted most still was no closer to his grasp. Merlin often wondered if it would ever arrive and it wasn’t like the dragon was around anymore to talk to. Good use it was being a dragonlord when all the dragons had long since vanished, died or gone into hiding Merlin never knew. But that frequent voice in his head had stopped whispering to him so long ago Merlin couldn’t even remember when it had stopped. With a vicious rub to his face Merlin stepped out of his boxers and into the pressurized hot water now fogging up his mirror.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A tad bit longer yes?


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes love lasts forever even if it's one sided.  
> Here is the story of Merlin, his life after he was cheated out of his passage to Avalon and the one person he ever truly loved.
> 
> Forever is an awfully long time when one has to live it alone.  
> Even if one is the greatest warlock that ever lived.

Merlin waved to the doorman at the entrance to Albion as he made his way inside, similar waves to his security and others he passed that he was supposed to know but generally didn’t. He rode the elevator up to the top floor where his offices were and where the meeting was being held, for now thirty minutes without him. As the floors clicked by one by one, bringing Merlin closer to his floor he started to feel dizzy. Not the wee I’m spinning in circles kind of joyful dizzy but more a oh my god something awful just happened and I think I may be sick kind of dizzy. Merlin grabbed a hold of one of the railings, trying to steady himself as the awful dizziness washed over him again and again. He hoped that if it came to vomiting that he at least made it out of the elevator before it started. Merlin couldn’t remember the last time he had gotten sick and it wasn’t something he looked forward to dealing with inside a small elevator. Merlin swallowed thickly once the elevator stopped moving, running a hand through his hair and breathing through pursed lips before the door chimed open and he had to take a step out.

“Are you alright Merlin you don’t look so good?” Mindy asked, concern written on her face as she walked towards him in greeting as he made it out to the middle of the floor.

“I’m fine. Just a little woozy. Must be a bug or something,” Merlin offered as he tried to shake it off.

“Are you sure?” Mindy continued as she held out a hand to place on Merlin’s arm.

“I’m su-” Merlin started to answer but didn’t finish as he doubled over in instant pain. It felt like someone had kicked him in the gut, or driven a battering ram into him, completely knocking the wind out of him and folding him in half. The pain in his stomach sent hot rivulets of fire and ice out to all his extremities, as if he had been struck by lightning.

“Oh god,” Merlin whispered before watching the room swim around him and then out of focus before completely blacking out.

-xXx-

“Merlin? Merlin? Can you hear me Merlin?” a concerned voice wafted through to Merlin’s partially conscious mind.

“Wha-what?” Merlin groggily asked as he finally got both his eyes to work for him and was able to open them.

“You collapsed onto the floor Merlin, completely passed out after you doubled over in pain. I’ve been trying to get you to wake up and Sandra called an ambulance once I got her to stop crying!” Mindy replied worriedly.

“I’m fine. I swear. I don’t need an ambulance,” Merlin groaned as he tried to sit up, fighting with the dizzy feeling. He ended up losing that battle so he laid himself back down on the cool hard marble floor. 

“I’ll go see my own personal doctor I swear,” Merlin finished as he closed his eyes and waved Mindy away. “I’m just gonna lie here a moment.”  
After a minute or two of just lying on the marble floor Merlin decided to test the waters and sit up. His head rushed a little at the altitude change but overall he felt better than he had before and decided to slowly stand.

“I got you some water. Here,” Mindy said as she came over with a bottle of water in hand. “You look like you need it.”

“Thanks,” Merlin replied as he took it and downed half of it before pausing for air.

“The CEO’s left when you were unconscious on the floor but Seth said he feels like the deal is closed. And that your dramatic performance convinced them that you really were ill and not just running late because you forgot and slept in,” Mindy supplied as she made her way back to her large desk in the center of this part of the room.

“Wonderful,” Merlin replied haphazardly.

“Are you sure you’re alright?” Mindy asked again as she placed her headset back on her head.

“Yeah, yeah I’m fine. I’ll just go see my doctor and then go rest,” Merlin answered as he turned to make his way wobbly back towards the elevator.

“Oh Merlin, I don’t know if it’s of any consequence but when you were out you mumbled the name Arthur a few times. Is that important?” Mindy asked as the phone started to ring.

“Thanks Mindy,” Merlin answered and waved her off as she entered the telephone and the elevator doors opened for him. Once inside Merlin waited for the doors to close before he leaned his head against one of the cool smooth polished copper walls of the elevator. “Arthur…” Merlin whispered as he closed his eyes and sighed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Maybe one more chapter this week.  
> And then an update next week!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes love lasts forever even if it's one sided.  
> Here is the story of Merlin, his life after he was cheated out of his passage to Avalon and the one person he ever truly loved.
> 
> Forever is an awfully long time when one has to live it alone.  
> Even if one is the greatest warlock that ever lived.

It had been a week since Merlin had collapsed on the top floor of his building, a week of hiding away in the penthouse of the hotel he lived in. He still hadn’t figured out why he had collapsed in sudden pain, the wind gone from him, but the CEO’s were back and this deal needed to be closed. He figured a week was suitable rest time and that it might be considered rude if he didn’t once again show up. So this time he was making sure to be there early and to go over things in his office that needed his dire attention, the things he could technically do at home but figured needed to be done here. The door to his office opened and Mindy walked in carrying the day's newspaper and a spot of lunch for him. It wasn’t something he had her do, but ever since his collapse she had taken a mother hen stance with him and he figured it best not to argue with her. Especially since she really was one of the only friends he had in this current time.

“Did you see the news about the loon they found the other day? Total nutter!” Mindy offered with a circular gesture at the side of her head.

“As you’re holding my newspaper and I have been on recovery bed rest for the past week I dare say I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Merlin offered with a thin smile and a roll of his eyes.

“Yeah some total nutter was picked up by the bobby’s as he was wandering around some lake side out near Tintagel Castle. Ranting and raving, completely off his rocker. They say he has amnesia or something, can’t remember who he is or anything. Going on and on about being royalty from some long forgotten age. He says he’s the King of Camelot!” Mindy scoffed as she placed the newspaper she had been reading down on Merlin’s desk.

“Mmm, that’s nice,” Merlin replied as he looked over something on a legal pad in front of him, only partially listening to what Mindy had been saying. “Wait where did you say?” Merlin asked as his head shot up.

“Some lake near Tintagel Castle. Which mind you I didn’t even know there was a lake out there!” Mindy replied, her mind wandering off into space.

“Wha-what else did it say in the news about this person?” Merlin asked frantically as he picked up the newspaper and started tearing through it, looking for the story and hoping for an image.

“Just some loon with amnesia, found ranting and raving. He was saying that he was the king of Camelot or some such nonsense. As if Arthur ever really existed in the first place!” Mindy laughed it off, ignoring Merlin’s frantic behavior.

“It doesn’t say where he’s being held! Fuck!” Merlin swore as he read the article again for the second time.

“N-no, today’s paper doesn’t. Because they printed where he was being held in the paper two days ago…” Mindy offered as she finally saw the state Merlin was in, her sentence trailing off at the look in his eyes.

“Where Mindy. WHERE are they holding this man?” Merlin shouted as he stood and slammed his hands on his desk.

“I don’t, I don’t remember exactly. I cou-could look it up for you...” Mindy answered as she took a step back from Merlin.

“Do that! And call me a car, no driver! Send the address to my phone!” Merlin shouted out as he flew passed her and out his office door into the lobby.

“But the meeting! The CEO’s Merlin!” Mindy shouted at his back as he ran.

“Seth can close the deal! Tell them I left for an emergency!” Merlin shouted back without even bothering to look over his shoulder.

“Alright!” Mindy’s voice called out as Merlin made his way into the elevator. His brain was moving a mile a minute and he couldn’t for the eternal life of him get them in any sort of order! Tintagel Castle was the rumored birthplace of Arthur in this day and age, but what they didn’t know was that it was in fact the site where Camelot had once stood so many many years ago. And what Mindy didn’t know was that there was indeed a lake near there, ever so small now after thousands of years worth of nature reclaiming it. But it was there. It’s location burned into Merlin’s memory, the place he had lost the thing he loved most. The place where Merlin had lost Arthur and gained his immortality.

Merlin’s phone vibrating in his pocket brought him out of his daze, Mindy had sent him the location of the place they were holding the man that had been found. The crazy man that claimed he was the long lost king of Camelot. Merlin’s stomach dropped out at the idea that it could possibly be real, that this man could possibly be his Arthur. He had chased so many leads like this over the years, dead end after dead end. But he had to hope, he had to find out so he checked after every plausible one. When the elevator doors finally opened Merlin burst out and raced through the downstairs lobby of his building, hoping there was a car ready and waiting for him outside. As he made it out the front door he was pleased to see his normal driver standing next to a rather flashy sports car holding out a set of keys towards Merlin. It was a bit extravagant for his current needs but Merlin didn’t really have the time nor brain space to argue. With a brief thank you to his driver Merlin was in the front seat and off as fast as traffic could take him. If there was ever a time Merlin was going to use his magic for personal gain, messing with the flow of traffic today was one of those rare times. Merlin was looking at a four and a half hour drive on a good day with no traffic, so if he used a bit of magic to give him nothing but green lights and empty lanes with all cops looking the other way it was only because of the sheer urgency of the situation. With his foot on the gas Merlin kept the horizon in his sights.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Until next week my dears!  
> And I know these chapters aren't the longest and for that I apologize!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes love lasts forever even if it's one sided.  
> Here is the story of Merlin, his life after he was cheated out of his passage to Avalon and the one person he ever truly loved.
> 
> Forever is an awfully long time when one has to live it alone.  
> Even if one is the greatest warlock that ever lived.

It was three hours later that Merlin pulled up in front of the place they were keeping the man claiming to be Arthur. It looked to be a mental hospital, which made sense if Merlin were to think about it rationally but all Merlin could see was red. 

“ _How **DARE** they keep Arthur in a place like this!_ ” Merlin thought to himself as he reached the front entrance. It was a beautiful place if truth be told, manicured lawns and happy people milling about. But the idea of Merlin’s Arthur, the once and future, well past, king of Camelot being held in some cell here drove Merlin mad. In his rage it took him only a moment or two to find the front desk.

“Can I help you?” a plump woman with a soft kind smile behind the desk asked as Merlin rung the tiny brass bell on it’s top.

“Yes, I’m here about a man you brought in a few days ago. He was found on a lakeside near Tintagel?” Merlin replied as he swallowed the knot forming in his throat.

“Sure, just one moment and I’ll get an orderly to take you to him,” the kind woman said with a smile before paging an orderly.

Merlin tapped his foot nervously and hoped he wasn’t visibly sweating. It was taking all of his willpower not to freeze the entire building and find out for himself. But if he was right, if this was Arthur, with all the news coverage surrounding him he had to do this right. He couldn’t just magically whisk his friend away otherwise there would be problems. When the orderly appeared finally Merlin followed the man down one overly sterilized hallway after another until they reached an open common room. The room was full of patients milling about, going about their business as orderlies, nurses and doctors mingled amongst them. The room was full to capacity it seemed but Merlin scanned the room, barely giving anyone a second glance as he skimmed their faces. His eyes finally landed on a blonde head sitting on the other end of the room in a chair with their back towards Merlin, staring out the giant window. Merlin swallowed again as he made his way towards it, trying to keep from hoping beyond hope that that blonde head belonged to his Arthur. 

Merlin slowed once he finally approached the chair and as he came around to the front of man sitting in it Merlin choked back a sob that tried to break from his lips. The broken sound brought the man’s attention to Merlin’s face and Merlin nearly broke into tears at the sight of the man’s pale blue eyes. Pale blue eyes he had been dreaming about for thousands of years.

“Merlin?” Arthur asked in a confused manner as he looked up at Merlin.

All Merlin could do was nod his head yes. Yes. Over and over again, before he fell to his knees in front of Arthur’s sitting form and rested his head on the other man’s bent knees.

“Yes, yes it’s me. Oh god it’s me Arthur,” Merlin cried as he let tears fall down his face onto Arthur’s uniform scrub clad legs. Merlin let out a broken sob when Arthur ever so gently placed a hand on Merlin’s head and just let it rest there a moment or two before pushing his fingers into Merlin’s hair, as if confirming this was real. He was home.

“Seven days Merlin. I’ve been back seven days,” Arthur uttered, sounding lost and far away as Merlin lifted his head from his lap and looked him in the face.

“What?” Merlin blurted. 

“We’ve had this man in custody for about six days but it was seven days ago that the authorities found him wandering and lost,” the orderly that had brought Merlin to Arthur replied as he was still standing near them.

“Seven days,” Merlin whispered as the gears in his head turned a mile a minute and eventually put two and two together. Seven days ago had been the day that Merlin had collapsed at his work, the day he felt like he had been hit by a battering ram and then struck by lightning. Seven days ago had been the day Arthur had returned from Avalon, to the shores of the lake he had left this world from.

“I’d, I’d like to take him home now,” Merlin finally said once he had his voice back under control.

“Are you family?” the orderly asked.

“Yes, yes I am. I’m the only family he’s got,” Merlin offered up to the orderly with a sad smile from his place still on the floor in front of Arthur’s sitting form.

“Alright, if you’ll come to the front desk there will be paperwork to do and verification needed,” the orderly offered with a nod of his head back the direction they’d just come from.

“Whatever is needed I have it,” Merlin replied as he stood from the floor, taking his eyes off Arthur for just a moment.   
When Merlin went to follow the orderly out a firm grip on his arm stopped him in his tracks. Looking down Merlin saw the frantically worried face of Arthur staring up at him, the sun casting a halo around the blonde’s head.

“Don’t leave me,” Arthur pleaded, sounding as if he was only half here.

“Never again Arthur, never again. I’m going to take you home,” Merlin offered over another choked back sob as he placed his own hand over Arthur’s where it gripped his arm tightly. Trying to calm his friend as much as he could without using any magic. But whatever Arthur read in Merlin’s face seemed to do the trick because he released Merlin’s arm so Merlin could jog after the orderly.

“What drugs is he on?” Merlin asked once he had caught up the orderly waiting in the hallway for him.

“A mixture of sedatives. It was the only way we could keep him calm and complacent while he was here. It took a day or two before we got the mix right enough that he could be out in the common room. The doctor will go over all that with you,” the orderly replied with another nod of his head.

As Merlin made his way back towards the front desk he started formulating the spell he was going to need to conjure up about every type of documentation he thought he could possibly need in this case. He couldn’t just make them believe he was Arthur’s only living family, or family at all, he needed actual documentation that would lead to a believable story. And that was a lot of paperwork. Merlin wasn’t sure what exactly he was going to need so he figured on everything, and a spell this complicated, this attuned to the modern age, was going to be one of the most complicated he had done in decades if not longer. By the time he had reached his car in the parking lot Merlin had most of the wrinkles worked out of the spell he had created, he opened the trunk and let the spell loose. By literal magic a briefcase appeared in the trunk, full to the brim with all sorts of documentation. From birth and death certificates, to last will and testaments and old family photos. Passports, signed paperwork for home mortgages, school transcripts, hospital files, report cards, anything and everything. Merlin was going to be magically taxed for a little bit after this spell but it was worth it. Anything was worth having Arthur back. At that thought Merlin found himself bent over slightly, gripping the edge of his trunk with white knuckles and weeping openly. Sobs wracked his body as he let it all out, thousands of years worth of pent up pain, anger and lost hope. His sobs were ugly but healing as he felt things slowly start the knitting process inside him. He was no longer alone.

Straightening himself up once he had control back Merlin took his briefcase and made his way inside. Magically he felt drained, emotionally he felt wrung out and all over the place but spiritually he felt like he was on cloud nine.

“Mr. Magni?” a man clad in a doctor’s jacket asked once Merlin had reached the front desk again. Merlin nodded at the man and then followed him into an office.

“I understand you’re here about taking a patient home?” the doctor inquired once Merlin was seated across from his desk.

Yes I am. The man you picked up seven days ago by Tintagel castle. His name is Arthur Pendra and I’m here to take him home,” Merlin answered rather matter of factually.

“Do you have documentation that shows you are in fact his family?” the doctor asked from his reclined desk.

“I do indeed sir, I even fear I may have brought too much paperwork. Should you need it I do believe I even have Arthur’s third grade report card,” Merlin offered with a feigned laugh to make his story believable.

“I’m quite sure that is unnecessary Mr. Magni. We just need the proper documentation. Now the orderly said you said you were not only the patient’s family but in fact his own living family?” the doctor asked as he leaned forward, resting his elbows on his large oak desk.

“Yes, we are fourth cousins. The car crash that took my father took his father as well,” Merlin answered, his fingers twisting out of sight as he changed details on the documentation he had with him. It was the details he was making up now that needed to be cemented on the paperwork he had created. Like the shortening of Arthur’s original last name of Pendragon to Pendra, the idea that they were fourth cousins and the bit about the car crash. The last part wasn’t too hard as he had already made similar documentation when his “father” had died and left him the company Albion, allowing for this “reincarnation” of Merlin take over the business.

“If this is the case, how was it that he came to be wandering about near Tintagel with a bad case of amnesia and hallucinations alone?” the doctor asked with a raised eyebrow.

“He has a condition, one that he’s had his whole life. He was hospitalized for years when we were younger but it got better as he grew up. Though he did always have to have someone around to care for him. Last I knew he was being taken care of as was set out in his father’s will. I don’t know what happened to him recently, but believe me you sir I WILL find out. I know how to handle him and I hope that by taking him home with me I can return him to his normal state once this is all taken care of. The fact that I only just learned about this in today’s newspaper is atrocious enough,” Merlin replied angrily, not having to feign any of his current emotion.

“Well in any case the orderly did say that the young man recognized you immediately when he brought you to him. So as long as you have everything we need I don’t see why you can’t take him home in a few hours,” the doctor answered as he opened a draw and brought out a stack of paperwork. Merlin simply smiled at the daunting stack.

“Yes sir,” Merlin answered happily.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys are simply amazing.   
> All of you.  
> Thank you so much for all of your kudos, your comments and for all of you out there reading!!!
> 
> You guys ROCK!
> 
> So this chapter is for you!
> 
> And remember, one chapter a week!!!


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes love lasts forever even if it's one sided.  
> Here is the story of Merlin, his life after he was cheated out of his passage to Avalon and the one person he ever truly loved.
> 
> Forever is an awfully long time when one has to live it alone.  
> Even if one is the greatest warlock that ever lived.

“Merlin?” a groggy voice asked, causing Merlin to turn around quickly. There was a groggy looking Arthur, dressed in clothes Merlin hadn’t seen in a lifetime, being led by two orderlies.

“Is he still drugged?” Merlin asked as Arthur wobbled the short remaining distance between the two of them and fell against Merlin’s chest.

“We thought it best. When he was brought in he seemed awfully terrified of vehicles so we thought it best, for the both of you,” the doctor answered as Merlin wrapped an arm protectively around his once king.

“Understandably,” Merlin answered. The doctor nodded like Merlin had been talking to him and agreeing with his decision to drug Arthur all over again when in fact Merlin hand been agreeing with the idea of Arthur being terrified of vehicles. Last Arthur knew the world used horse power in a very literal sense as a mode of transportation, not four rubber wheels encased in steel and running on science.

“I’ll take it from here now, thank you for everything you’ve done for him,” Merlin offered with the last of his sincerity. All he wanted to do was get Arthur out of there.   
With several nods and waves from the institutions staff Merlin hobbled outside, supporting Arthur the whole way as they broke out into the glorious sunshine. As they made it to the parking lot Arthur stirred against Merlin who had been revelling not only in the fact that Arthur was back with him but that he was so damn close. Merlin could smell the shampoo they used on Arthur’s hair and he hated it. It smelled of chemicals and nothing like Arthur. As they got close to Merlin’s car Merlin felt Arthur start resisting against him, pulling away.

“Shh, shh. It’s okay Arthur, it’s alright. Hey, hey, look at me,” Merlin pleaded, stopping a few feet from his car. Arthur lifted his head and locked his trusting, if out of focus, pale blue eyes on Merlin’s own bright blue ones. Merlin let the tiniest thread of magic wash over Arthur, releasing him from this new fear and knocking him mostly unconscious.

“Oomph,” Merlin grunted when Arthur’s full weight fell into Merlin when he dropped into a magicked state of unconsciousness.

“Good lord I forgot how solidly built you were,” Merlin groaned as he heaved the unconscious body of his best friend into his car and strapped him in. 

Once Arthur was stowed and taken care of Merlin popped into the driver’s seat, pushing speed dial four on his phone and switching it over to his car’s bluetooth.

“Good afternoon Albion Incorporated,” Mindy’s voice rang through the other end of the phone.

“Mindy, it’s Merlin. I’m…”

“Ohmygodareyouokay?” Mindy gushed all at once, interrupting Merlin in the process. Merlin couldn’t help but laugh. He felt light as a bird, both inside and out, and Mindy’s ever present care and over protectiveness of him brought out a chuckle.

“I’m fine Mindy! More than fine, I’m superb! My emergency while an emergency turned out to be a good one. But that being said I’m going to head out to my vacation house in Bremerton for a while. I don’t know when I’ll be back so have Seth run things and just send whatever you need to me via email,” Merlin said loudly, to be heard over the air rushing past his head as the top of his convertible was still down. 

“Your Bremerton house? But you haven’t been there in ages!” Mindy answered.

“I know, but now I am. I have something, someone, to take care of and it’s going to take me a while. Just trust me on this and I will explain to you when I can,” Merlin offered in reply as he looked over at the passed out Arthur beside him, a smile on his face as he turned back towards the road.

“Alright, call me if you need anything Merlin,” Mindy said with a sigh for the fact that Merlin was once again leaving her out of the loop.

“I will Mindy, I will,” Merlin replied before hanging up and turning his blue tooth device off via the button on his steering wheel.

“Let’s get you home,” Merlin whispered as he picked up speed.

Mindy had been right, Merlin hadn’t been to his house in Bremerton in a very long time but not because of why she thought. Merlin had built the house with his own two hands, built it as a place to take Arthur once he returned. A place where he could safely bring his best friend up to speed on the time he had missed, however much it had been by that point. But with all the passing years and no sign of Arthur the place had given Merlin a bad taste in his mouth. A constant reminder of what he didn’t have and didn’t think would ever happen. Merlin had had the place tucked up and put away until it was needed, and now was that time. With a laugh Merlin sped down the road, the horizon looking like a better and better place with every mile covered.

**-xXx-**

“Good. Fucking. Christ! Could you weigh. Any more. You giant. Clotpole!” Merlin grunted as heaved his friend’s dead weight up the stairs to the vacation house’s front wrap around porch.

Merlin stopped once he had reached the porch, several feet above the ground, to catch his breath and prop Arthur’s still unconscious body on a bench.

“It’s a good thing I no longer have to lug your armor and weapons around, because my magical ass is out of shape apparently,” Merlin spoke to Arthur’s unresponsive body as he gulped in air. Merlin bent at the waist and placed his hands on his bent knees as he worked on his second wind.

“Round three!” Merlin huffed as he wrapped his arms under Arthur’s armpits and around his chest and heaved him up, dragging him through the unlocked and propped open front door. If he’d had any real magical energy left he would have just poofed Arthur inside but he didn’t, he was working on simply human energy and it was rough going.

Once Merlin had Arthur inside he stripped the guest bedroom that he had designed for Arthur of all it’s white sheet coverings and opened all the windows. As the room aired itself of years worth of collected stale air, no dust as Merlin had cast a spell on the house to prevent it, Merlin went to the linen closet. Opening the door he was met with the fresh scent of dried lavender and sage, the herbs he had packed away with all the linens. Once he finally got Arthur’s room ready for the king he would work on the rest of the house before tackling harder matters, but not until then. There was something about stepping back into the ancient routine of readying Arthur’s bed for him that felt relaxing. It was so natural to him, even though he had moaned about it back when it had been his servant-ly duty it had still become a part of who he was. It was soothing to once again be stepping back into that role, like how he still wore a neckerchief around his neck. Once the room was ready Merlin hauled Arthur in and laid him in bed, gently tucking the bed clothes around him and shutting all but one window so a gentle ocean breeze could still come in. With Arthur taken care of Merlin set about opening the rest of the house and getting it ready to be lived in. 

Once the house was done, Merlin placed an order to the local grocery to have a substantial order delivered, he made a similar call to the local butcher as well. The house was devoid of food and Merlin didn’t like the idea of leaving Arthur alone in the house while he ran errands just incase he woke up while he was gone. With practical house things taken care of Merlin went to the small hidden closet in his own bedroom that he kept locked, guarded and cloaked. Opening it up he reached in and grabbed the items he was looking for, one of which was the enormous book of magic Gaius had given him so many lifetimes ago. Merlin had long since made notations in the corners and margins and had even added additional pages as his craft expanded with the onslaught of years an eternal life brought with it. It had been a long time since he had looked at it last, but he had need of it again. The idea of filling Arthur in on thousands of years of history was a daunting one, so daunting in fact that Merlin was hoping the old book would have some sort of spell he could use to transfer that knowledge a different way. So with a slight movement of his hand and a flash of gold in his eyes Merlin made his favorite Chinese take out appear as he sat down and opened that old book.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New update for the week!!!
> 
> Hope you all enjoy!
> 
> Sorry for the shortness of length!!!


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes love lasts forever even if it's one sided.  
> Here is the story of Merlin, his life after he was cheated out of his passage to Avalon and the one person he ever truly loved.
> 
> Forever is an awfully long time when one has to live it alone.  
> Even if one is the greatest warlock that ever lived.

“Merlin!”

Merlin woke with a start and was on his feet in seconds, the book falling to the floor amidst the leftovers of his meal, chopsticks and takeout containers flying as he jumped and ran. Merlin found his way to Arthur’s room, not that far from his own as it was just down the hall. Arthur was sitting straight up in his bed, blankets clutched to his bare chest and his eyes wide in fright.

“Merlin!” Arthur called again, though this time with less volume as his eyes focused on Merlin’s thin frame standing in the doorway.

“Hey,” Merlin said softly as he slowly entered the bedroom and made his way to Arthur’s bed.

“Merlin, I, I. What’s going on? Where am I? I don’t understand anything and my head is so foggy and is beating like I just had a bad night in a tavern,” Arthur whimpered as he brought a hand to his forehead.

“Let me get you something,” Merlin said as he made his way into Arthur’s adjoining bathroom.

“Wait Merlin!” Arthur called out as the magician ducked out of sight.

“Shh I’m right here silly. I just wanted to get you something for your head,” Merlin said as he approached his long lost friend with three aspirin and a glass of water.

“Is this one of Gaius’ hangover medicines?” Arthur asked as he inspected the three tiny white tablets Merlin had deposited into his hand.

“Something like that,” Merlin offered with a sad smile.

With that Arthur took the aspirin and followed it with a long swig of the ice cold water before laying back down.

“My head is killing me,” Arthur groaned as he threw an arm up over his eyes. “I don’t understand Merlin,” the blonde man whispered in pain.

“I know Arthur, I know. Just get some sleep and when you wake again I’ll explain everything,” Merlin offered softly.

“I feel like I’ve slept for a hundred years,” Arthur groaned in protest at the idea of sleeping any more even though his statement was followed by a huge yawn.

“You don’t even know the half of it,” Merlin replied as Arthur’s breathing started to even out. Taking that as his cue Merlin made to leave Arthur’s bedside to get back to the book, with the hope that he had found the spell he needed before he had passed out himself. He stopped when a familiar strong hand gripped his wrist, stopping him in his tracks.

“Stay with me until I fall asleep?” Arthur asked in a commanding tone that brought a smile to Merlin’s face.

“Whatever you wish. Prat,” Merlin teased so as to make Arthur feel less vulnerable and embarrassed for asking.

“Clotpole,” Arthur replied in turn with a small smile gracing his face from underneath his arm. With a smile Arthur couldn’t see Merlin settled into the chair next to the bed, Arthur’s hand never leaving the warlock’s wrist.

**-xXx-**

Once Arthur had fallen into a deep sleep, the sound of which Merlin still hadn’t forgotten how to detect after all these years, Merlin escaped out to his bedroom where he grabbed the book and everything from the hidden closet. Taking it all out to the kitchen, and keeping an ear cocked for any sound coming from Arthur’s room, Merlin set about starting his work on the potion. It was complicated, more so because it was not only a complicated spell but also a complicated potion as well. Merlin had smarted up many many years ago and had started cultivating the herbs the books used in a greenhouse as one by one they fell into extinction as with everything he knew from his old life. If he was to keep up with his magic and the book he was going to need them on hand as he no longer had a prince to go on a quest for them. And today all his labor was proving worth it, because some of the things used in this particular spell he had only seen Gaius use once or twice if ever. Once the vile smelling concoction was finished and poured into a glass Merlin was sure he was never going to use again for anything, he sat down and set about working on the incantation he was going to have to use. The last thought he had before drifting into a memorization trance was that maybe he should concoct one of Gaius’ _actual_ headache cures when he was done as he didn’t think anything in modern medicine was going to help Arthur when he was done with him.

Hours later Merlin stirred from his trance, solid in the knowledge that he knew the spell backwards and forwards. Casting his ears to the sound of the house and finding Arthur still asleep Merlin went about making one of Gaius’ well known headache cures, upping the dose and concentrating it just a bit as he figured the regular dose may not cut it this time. As the headache cure boiled he took the glass of vile memory potion into Arthur’s room, wrinkling his nose as the smell wafted towards him.

“Hey you,” Merlin whispered as he shook Arthur awake.

“Mmrrumph,” Arthur mumbled as he swatted Merlin’s hand away.

“Wake up you royal Prat!” Merlin teased as he shoved his friend’s shoulder, choking ever so slightly over the old nickname.

“Whaaat?” Arthur pouted still from under the arm he had thrown over his face earlier.

“I’ve got something to help you make sense of everything,” Merlin offered in reply.

“Is that what that awful smell is?” Arthur groaned as a tease.

“Pshhh! Ungrateful little fucker!” Merlin joshed as he picked up the foul smelling glass.

“What in the hell is a fucker?” Arthur asked as he removed his arm and looked at Merlin for the first time with clear drug free eyes. They burned into Merlin and he couldn’t help but shudder just a little bit from their intensity.

“Drink this and you’ll find out,” Merlin smirked as he waved the potion in front of Arthur a few times.

“So all I have to do is drink this muck and everything will be clear?” Arthur asked, his interest peaked as he sat up in the bed and folded his legs underneath him.

“That and a little help from me,” Merlin teased as he sat on the now freed space on the bed in front of Arthur and let his eyes flash gold simply for show. Arthur intook quickly at the sight and Merlin stopped immediately, letting his eyes go back to their normal bright blue.

“Do you trust me Arthur?” Merlin asked, worried that his friend had only come into the knowledge of his manservant’s magical abilities so shortly before he had passed on from his mortal wound and gone to Avalon. And for all of Merlin’s joking Arthur may not trust him and that hurt Merlin as much as not having Arthur for so long did.

“I trust you,” Arthur said strongly as he placed his free hand on top of Merlin’s on the bed between them. Merlin felt his spirit rise and leave his body, soaring out the window to dance with the first evening stars.

“Then let’s begin,” Merlin said as he mimicked Arthur’s position and sat cross legged directly across him, their knees touching through the blankets.

“I need to you to drink the potion in your hand, all of it. And then I need to you lend me your hands and allow me to place my forehead to yours. This spell is going to knock you unconscious, but when you wake I’ll have one of Gaius’ tried and true headache cures ready and waiting for you I promise. Can you do that Arthur? Can you trust me enough to work magic on you?” Merlin asked, nervous as he sucked in his bottom lip and bit down hard enough to almost draw blood.

“I hope you have something on hand to also get rid of this taste from my mouth,” Arthur answered as a reply before downing the entire glass of thick disgusting liquid. Arthur always had been better with actions than with words themselves.

“Oh god,” Arthur said as he tried to keep from bringing the potion back up all over the bed. Once he had it down he reached for Merlin’s hands and allowed the warlock to lock their hands together.

“Alright here comes the hard part,” Marlin spoke as he closed his eyes and leaned in far enough to touch his forehead to Arthur’s. Arthur simply scoffed in return, clearly thinking that having to consume the potion had been the hardest part. 

As their foreheads finally touched Merlin began the chant, drawing from his memory trance from earlier. As the words poured forth from Merlin the room around them began to glow before slowing siphoning to their clasped hands and touching heads. As Merlin continued chanting the glow traveled from their clasped hands up their arms, over their chests and up to their touching heads. As Merlin came to the end of the chant he squeezed Arthur’s hands and as the last words fell from his lips Arthur squeezed back. Suddenly a blinding light erupted and exploded, sending Arthur back onto his pillows and Merlin back towards the end of the bed. When the light flares faded from Merlin’s eyes the warlock sat up and slid off the bed and on wobbly legs made his way to the kitchen where the headache potion should be cool enough to drink.

While the memory of the taste made Merlin cringe he knew the effects would be worth, it had been so long since he had consumed this version of it that it almost made him a little homesick. Almost. What it did do was bring back the memory of his last moments with Gaius, and that made him sad. He had sat with the old man who had been a father to him and watched him pass from this world and into the next, no other worldly island waiting for him as he closed his eyes forever. It had been Gaius’ passing that had driven the warlock from the walls of Camelot, a place that no longer felt like a home.

Wiping his eyes Merlin grabbed his portion of the headache potion and downed it, willing it to take effect immediately as he grimaced at the once familiar taste. Grabbing the second glass Merlin made his way back to Arthur, knowing the once king was going to need it ever so much more than he did. As Merlin entered the room he heard the soft sounds of Arthur crying and trying not to be heard.

“Here,” Merlin said softly as he held out the second glass. Arthur took it without a reply and simply downed it in one go before handing it back so he could curl up once more. Merlin placed the glass down and for the first time since the man before him had died he climbed up beside him and drew the weeping man to his chest. Arthur simply melted into Merlin and let the warlock wrap his thin arms around him as he wept. He wept for the things he had lost, for the people he had once known now long gone, for the time that had passed on without him or with his knowledge of it. He wept for all the changes he still didn’t quite understand as they barely started to settle in his mind. He wept for how alone he felt and he wept for everything Merlin had had to go through. All alone. With no friend to hold him as he wept over it. And the thought of that made Arthur weep even more. Arthur didn’t think he had wept so much in his entire existence as he did now in the arms of his warlock, his best friend.

“I’m so sorry Arthur, I’m so so sorry. I’m sorry I couldn’t get to you,” Merlin said through his own tears, his face pressed against the top of Arthur’s head as he pulled the once king closer. He didn’t know if he’d ever get this chance ever again, the chance to hold Arthur while he cried. To hold him at all really. And so he took it and let the embrace heal the old wounds inside him all the while opening fresh ones.

“It wasn’t your fault,” Arthur finally said against Merlin’s chest once the sobs had stopped wracking his body as harshly as they had at first.

“Shh,” Merlin murmured into Arthur’s golden hair as he squeezed him reassuringly.

Arthur simply sighed and pressed farther into Merlin’s grasp as if seeking the source of Merlin’s body heat as comfort. Merlin shuddered as Arthur crawled into his embrace further, a shudder that wasn’t necessarily caused by the cold touch of Arthur’s skin. It was too much for Merlin to take in all at once and so soon, too much for his brain to process. The feeling of Arthur against him, Merlin only just now realizing that his best friend was still shirtless, plus the smell of the linen herbs and the smell that could only be Arthur combined to make it almost impossible for Merlin to think straight.

“Why don’t we get you clean eh?” Merlin whispered into Arthur’s hair as the blonde stirred beneath him.

“Mmrmph,” Arthur mumbled into Merlin’s chest, his thin shirt doing nothing much to block the heat from Arthur’s breath as it caressed the skin of his chest. Merlin felt another very un-friend like shiver take over his body and he knew he had to un-attach himself from Arthur soon before he did something incredibly stupid.

“Come on you royal Prat and I’ll show you to your bathing chambers,” Merlin said, switching back to a way of speaking a bit more familiar to Arthur as he untangled himself from the man.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so just in case some of you have problems with having Arthur weep like that just remember that this is my story.  
> But also that you have to think about it from another perspective...
> 
> What would YOU do if you woke up from a 100 year sleep and had a 100 years of history SHOVED into your mind all at once? To learn that everything and everyone you knew had long since died and left you. You'd weep too. All over the place.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes love lasts forever even if it's one sided.  
> Here is the story of Merlin, his life after he was cheated out of his passage to Avalon and the one person he ever truly loved.
> 
> Forever is an awfully long time when one has to live it alone.  
> Even if one is the greatest warlock that ever lived.

Arthur followed Merlin as if in a dream which was probably because his brain was trying to process thousands of years worth of information and history without killing him. It made Merlin’s head hurt to think about everything that had happened since that fateful day and he had LIVED through it all. It was going to be a totally new experience for Arthur to have it all jammed into his head all at once. But regardless Arthur dutifully followed the warlock into the bathroom. As Arthur stood unaware of his surroundings in the bathroom Merlin went about getting a shower ready. As Merlin turned on the multiple shower heads to get the water hot and ready Arthur jumped at the sound and turned to face the shower.

“What sorcery is this?” Arthur exclaimed as he stood in awe.

Merlin couldn’t help but burst out laughing at the sheer ridiculousness of it all, something as simple as a shower. Well six high powered shower heads set all about a cobblestone walled shower encased in glass with a window on the far wall was a bit more than _simple_ , but that was a moot point. Merlin had learned to take things not only for granted but just as is over time, he forgot that even with Arthur’s new knowledge that something like a shower would be new to him. 

“It’s just a shower Arthur,” Merlin chuckled.

“A what?” Arthur asked confused as he still stood in awe.

“A shower. This is a bathroom, a room for bathing. Think of a shower as an indoor waterfall, of which you can control the temperature of the water with science. And this is a toilet, it’s basically a chamber pot that no one, thank god, has to empty for you by hand. You simply push down the little silver handle and once again with science your mess is taken care of. Because believe you me I am never touching another one of your chamber pots after a long night of drinking ever again. And now I never have to,” Merlin explained happily.

“So it’s not magic?” Arthur asked, still a little confused.

“Haha not magic like I use, no. It’s the magic of science so to speak. It’s no more magic than gravity, or how magnets work,” Merlin explained.

“I don’t know what you mean by gravity and I have no idea what magnets are,” Arthur exasperated with a wild wave of his hand.

“Oh Arthur there is so much you need to learn. Just trust me that what these things are is simply science, like Gaius used to use,” Merlin explained, his face dropping at the end.

“You miss him, Gaius?” Arthur asked softly, taking a step towards Merlin before laying a hand on his shoulder.

“I miss everybody, even after all this time. I spent so many years alone with nothing but my memories that it was hard not to I guess. Gaius was the only father I really ever had, he was the first friend I had in Camelot and he was the last one too. I left after he died as there was nothing left for me in Camelot, not any more at that point,” Merlin said softly, staring at his empty hands. 

“I’m so sorry Merlin. What did you do after you left?” Arthur asked.

“That my friend is another story for another time. For now you need to bathe. Something you’re going to have to get used to doing on your own. For no one has a servant do such things for them anymore, unless they’re elderly and infirm. Which you are not,” Merlin supplied as he gave Arthur’s bare chest a once over to make a point.

“ _N_ o, I’m not _Mer_ lin,” Arthur scoffed with a roll of his eyes, stressing syllables like he used to those thousands of years ago.

“Well then, I leave you to it since you are so incredibly capable,” Merlin drawled sarcastically before leaving the bathroom to allow Arthur to blunder about.  
As Merlin closed the door he stood still for a moment to catch his breath, whether it was because of Arthur’s small show of compassion, his nearness, his state of attire or --

**-xXx-**

Merlin was elbows deep in ingredients and bubbling pots when Arthur appeared eventually. Merlin had left him back when he was showering and after which Arthur had stayed in his room, locked away doing only god knew what. And Merlin had left him to it, he knew Arthur was going to need time adjusting so he let him to it. Merlin had tidied up the house, putting away the orders of groceries and butcher orders that had arrived and had finally decided to cook. There was one thing that Merlin had learned to love over his eternal life and that was to cook. It was like magic in it’s own right, all the ingredients coming together, blending to create a meal. And as he’d had thousands of years to practice if Merlin were one to brag he’d say he had become quite proficient at it. Genius maybe even.

“What are you doing?” came Arthur’s voice from behind the warlock.

Merlin paused mid process, he had several pots on the stove with spoons protruding from them, spinning on their own. Celery, onions and red peppers being chopped by a floating knife as Merlin washed and diced tomatoes.

“Umm cooking?” Merlin replied in question, the floating and free stirring utensils stopping their work as Merlin realized what it was he was doing. His eyes returned to their normal brilliant blue.

“Cooking?” Arthur asked as he took a seat on a stool across from Merlin on the side of the kitchen’s island that wasn’t being used by cooking implements.

“Yes _cooking_. I quite like it. Like I said before, no servants anymore, one must fend for oneself. Plus, I do so love food,” Merlin replied with a cheeky grin.

“Oh there are still servants who do things like cooking and cleaning,” Arthur said in a manner that profaned a certainty in his knowledge.

“Things settling about upstairs?” Merlin asked as he returned to dicing his tomatoes.

“Some I guess. Things that are similar to how things used to be, like servants. Other things I still don’t understand or can even begin to fathom, like bombs or -or airplanes. But some I guess. The rich still have servants do things for them and from what I can tell by your house you are in fact rich. Which I am still trying to understand also,” Arthur answered before throwing a chunk of celery into his mouth.

“I am in fact rich, true. This happens to be one of my vacation houses. But what did you expect after living for thousands of years?” Merlin asked with a smirk.

Arthur just sighed and let his head fall to his folded arm on the countertop as he had taken a seat upon of the stools Merlin had there for just that reason. Merlin watched him with careful eyes for a moment, watching his shoulders rise and fall evenly, before turning back to his cooking. His utensils lifted by literal magic once again, invisible hands making them chop and julienne as Merlin stirred and tasted. Merlin caught a flash of a hand sneak out from the corner of his eye, Arthur's hand darting towards the cutting board with the celery and red peppers. With a flick of his mind Merlin caused the large knife swat Arthur's knuckles with the flat of the blade, causing the once and future king to retract his hand immediately. Merlin looked over as Arthur raised his head to bring out the Royal pout and Merlin felt something catch in his chest and tighten his throat. Even after all this time the Royal pout still had the same effect on him, if in fact it hadn't gotten stronger with time. With a roll of his eyes so Arthur wouldn't identify the fleeting emotions running across Merlin's thin face the warlock magicked the knife to slide a small pile of red peppers over to the dethroned king and his best friend. With a lopsided smile Arthur grabbed a slice of red pepper and popped the whole thing in his mouth, happily chewing before he laid his head back down again only this time turned to the side so he could continue eating.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I appreciate every single one of you people reading my story.  
> You lurkers, you anonymous readers, you kudos leavers and you commentators.  
> You guys are amazing.
> 
> But this chapter is for S.  
> Not for anything specific.  
> Just because I hope it makes their week go by a little swifter! ;)  
> (But I SO apologize for the shortness and the filler-esque nature of it! Next week's will be better I PROMISE!!!)


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes love lasts forever even if it's one sided.  
> Here is the story of Merlin, his life after he was cheated out of his passage to Avalon and the one person he ever truly loved.
> 
> Forever is an awfully long time when one has to live it alone.  
> Even if one is the greatest warlock that ever lived.

“Ohmygodthisisdeliciouswhatisit?” Arthur garbled all at once with a mouth so full of food parts of it were peaking out the sides. Merlin looked askance at his best friend, brow scrunched as he tried to figure out if he found the sight before him gross or adorable. The warlock was finding it hard to decide which. 

“It’s called jambalaya your Royal Prat-ness. It’s a Louisiana Creole dish of French and Spanish influence. Which now that I think about it means just about nothing to you. It’s chicken, andouille sausage, a lot of spices you’re not going to recognize, celery, onions, green peppers, I added red ones as you well know,” Merlin replied as he gave his best friend a pointed look. “And also hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, chicken broth and rice,” Merlin finished off.

“I don’t understand half of that,” Arthur added through another full mouthful.

“Good thing I didn’t list off the laundry list of spices I put into it one by one,” Merlin supplied with a sly cheeky grin before putting a forkful in his own mouth.

“Laundry list?” Arthur asked confused, fork stopped mid air halfway to his mouth with his mouth open. Merlin almost had to call on the powers that be for his kind to keep himself from laughing at the sight, he had to settle for a silent snicker.

“It’s a term of expression. Oh there is _so_ much you have yet to learn,” Merlin chuckled softly as he continued to eat his dinner.

“Will you teach me?” Arthur inquired after a few minutes of silent eating between the two of them.

“Teach you what?” Merlin asked nonchalantly as he forked up another mouthful.

“To cook,” Arthur answered softly.

Merlin’s fork clanked loudly, echoing through the silent house, as it bounced off his plate to the table and then off. Merlin’s hand was frozen midway to his mouth, now empty that his fork was somewhere rolling around on the floor. Merlin cleared his throat rather loudly, it took three of them before he found his ability to speak.

“Yo-you want to learn how to _cook_?” Merlin stuttered out, almost choking on the last word. There was an exaggerated pregnant pause before Arthur opened his mouth again.

“Well uhm, well seeing as how this time is different from the one I used to know and judging by your serious lack of servants I might want to learn at some point,” Arthur added meekly.

“I, well, uhm… Yes. Tha-that makes perfect sense. I guess. But I think that maybe we should start with something a little less complicated or ingredient heavy as jambalaya,” Merlin responded as he got up from his island counter stool to get a new fork so he could finish his meal.

“I mean I’d rather not starve and it has to be one of the easier things you can help clear up in here,” Arthur explained as he motioned at his head. 

“Because things like that,” Arthur pointed at the microwave. “And that,” he motioned at the cordless phone sitting on the edge of one of the counters. “Completely bewilder me. And with no servants other than you I feel I will starve otherwise,” Arthur ended rather matter of factually over his empty plate to which he was pointing to for emphasis.

“I am no longer a lowly manservant to the King, Arthur. It’s been a very, very, _very_ long time since I have had to pick up someone else’s clothes other than my own. In fact I don’t even wash my own clothes anymore, I send it down to be washed,” Merlin rambled off.

“Are you a King now then Merlin? Have our roles been reversed while I was hidden away in a place I don’t really remember?” Arthur asked, the bemusement in his voice real as his face crinkled ever so slightly as he tried to think through the jumble in his brain.

“No Arthur, I am not a King. There really aren’t a lot of those anymore. And most of the ones that remain, well they're mostly just figure heads with no real power. So no, King I am not,” Merlin answered with a sad smile, his eyes momentarily pointed inward as he mentally went through his past many years.

“What are you then if you are not a King nor no longer my manservant?” Arthur asked sincerely.

“I am a business owner. I own an architectural firm back in the city,” Merlin explained.

“What’s an arch-i-tek-” Arthur stumbled.

“An architectural firm? I own a business that builds buildings around the world, a large number of which I design,” Merlin explained rather matter of factually as if his accomplishments were nothing.

“Around the _world_?” Arthur spit out in disbelief as Merlin loaded their scraped plates and other utensils into the dishwasher.

“Yes Arthur, around the world,” Merlin answered with a shake of his head.

“What is the name of your business?” Arthur asked as he kicked his napkin around on the floor instead of picking it up.

Merlin paused as he finished starting the dishwasher, he shut off the lighting he no longer needed above the counters and bent to pick up Arthur’s abused napkin before opening his mouth to answer.

“Albion,” Merlin answered without looking at Arthur as he tossed the dirty cloth napkin into the kitchen hamper. He kept his eyes looking away, as if afraid to meet his eyes once he told him what he had named his global company.

“And Arthur,” Merlin spoke again as he paused before leaving the kitchen, still not looking at his once and future King. “I don’t think I’ll ever stop being your manservant,” Merlin finished before walking out and into the rest of his house, flicking the main kitchen light off and leaving his best friend in the barely ambient lighting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanted to make sure all you people out there know how much I love you all.  
> Whether I know your name or not.  
> So this week's chapter is for you. All of you.  
> Thank you from the bottom of my wee littler writer's heart!
> 
> And I apologize for the length. Or lack there of.  
> I promise it will be longer next week!


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes love lasts forever even if it's one sided.  
> Here is the story of Merlin, his life after he was cheated out of his passage to Avalon and the one person he ever truly loved.
> 
> Forever is an awfully long time when one has to live it alone.  
> Even if one is the greatest warlock that ever lived.

Merlin made his way into his dimly lit living room. As he wove around pieces of furniture and decorations he made a mental note to maybe start leaving the place brighter. He may know his way around his summer home, even if he never really spent time here, but Arthur didn’t. And Merlin didn’t want Arthur to get hurt bad enough that a hospital visit was needed, because that was a headache Merlin wasn’t ready for until Arthur was more acclimated. With a delicate curl of his fingers the warlock brought the lighting up in the living room and surrounding areas enough to see clearly through. With a heavy sigh Merlin flopped onto his couch and curled his lanky legs beneath him, folding in on himself as he clutched a throw pillow to his chest. He was pensive and confused and a whole lot of other things he couldn’t put a name to. Or didn’t want to. He felt like what Arthur must be feeling like at the moment, or something close to. And as if by magic a thud followed by the sound of air being compressed out of leather cushions Arthur took up a spot on the other end of Merlin’s couch.

“So what is this thing?” Arthur asked after a few moments of silence.

“It’s called a sofa,” Merlin replied, his chin resting on top of the throw pillow in his arms.

“It’s... uhm… pliant,” Arthur offered as he adjusted his body around on the over stuffed sofa. Arthur’s rather awkward attempt at small talk and his use of the word pliant when describing the piece of furniture he was getting used to was enough to cause Merlin to snort and bury his face into the pillow he was holding.

“What?” Arthur asked rather indignantly at Merlin’s snort.

“Pliant? Pliant? I think a more appropriate word would be squishy,” Merlin answered with his face still buried in his pillow, if only to hide the grin on his face if for nothing else.

“Squishy? What is this word squishy? It sounds rath-WHOA!” Arthur ended his statement with an outburst. Merlin’s head immediately shot up only to catch sight of Arthur lying almost fully vertical on the reclined portion of the couch. He must have activated the recliner somehow and was now lying with a most panicked expression on his face, his legs all akimbo and his arms flailed out and gripping any part of the couch around him he could get a hold of. The sight was too much for the warlock and he couldn’t contain the laughter bubbling inside him any longer. Merlin burst out laughing at his best friend, the awkwardness of earlier temporarily forgotten as he watched the spectacle before him.

“Merlin! _Mer_ lin! Help me damnit! Stop laughing at me and help me damnit all! I find this contraption infuriating!” Arthur shouted as he struggled to right himself from his hilarious situation. Well hilarious to Merlin at least, and hopefully many years down the line Arthur would be able to look back on this and not grimace. Though Merlin wouldn’t hold his breath. After a moment or two of mirth Merlin took pity on his friend and went about righting the couch so Arthur could stop worrying for his life.

“What in god’s name _is_ that thing?” Arthur asked as he moved over a cushion as if afraid it would get up and sprout arms and try to trap him again.

“It’s a part of the sofa Arthur. It’s called a recliner. I don’t know how you activated the lever but you did. If you know what you’re doing it’s quite nice, it allows you to recline back and to raise your feet. It’s perfect for all night television or gaming marathons,” Merlin offered with a grin as he say down in Arthur’s old spot to show him it was safe again.

“See?” Merlin asked as he slowly activated the reclining mechanism until he was perfectly supine. Arthur looked on with a single raised eyebrow, as if he didn’t trust the sofa or Merlin at the moment.

“You can sit in my spot if this scares you too much,” Merlin supplied as he brought the recliner up a bit but not all the way.

“What’s a television?” Arthur asked after few moments of awkward silence on his side as he did indeed take Merlin’s previous spot as he looked at Merlin with caution.

“It’s another story for another day Arthur,” Merlin replied with a soft shake of his head.

“Then tell me some stories Merlin,” Arthur huffed as he got more comfortable, placing his back to the armrest and pointing his feet out towards Merlin but with knees bent just enough.

“Stories?” Merlin snorted with slight derision.

“Yes, _stories_ Merlin. I’ve been gone for thousands of years. Thousands of years that you have walked this earth without me. You’ve got to have loads of stories. Fill me in, help me make sense of this jumble in my head by telling me your stories. I want to know,” Arthur supplied in answer as he leaned forward and brought his knees up a bit more so he could cross his arms on top of them to which he could rest his chin and stare at Merlin with large blue open eyes.

“Alright. If it’s stories you want, then it’s stories you’ll get,” Merlin answered after a moment as he turned to perfectly mirror his King’s position, toes a few spare inches from Arthur’s own.

“So it was about a hundred years or so after I had left Camelot and creatures were still as thick as thieves then. I happened across the strange beast sitting by a fire cooking meat on a spit as if it was like you or I…” Merlin rambled off as he kept his eyes locked on the bright blue ones of his best friend, of his king, as his story fell from his lips as if it was yesterday.

**-xXx-**

“It was a rather astonishing color of purple that’s for sure. Not a bad color per say, but not the right color for my hair that’s for sure. Luckily-” Merlin’s story was cut short by a loud noise beside him.

Startled back into this current timeline by the sound Merlin looked over at Arthur. The king was sprawled backwards in the most awkward and uncomfortable looking position, his head tossed back with his mouth hung open. It was from there that the horrible sound had come, Arthur’s regular snore augmented and multiplied by the way he was sleeping.

“Apparently my stories still have the same effect on you as they always have,” Merlin scoffed before he looked over at his wall clock and yawned largely. 

“Well it is almost 5 am, so I guess I am not solely to blame,” Merlin sighed as he stretched out all his limbs to their full extent.

“I guess I had better get you off to bed. I don’t think I missed this part of my job. Don’t suppose you’ll wake up on your own and march yourself off to bed will you?” Merlin asked Arthur’s unconscious form as he nudged him with his foot. Merlin sighed when Arthur didn’t respond except to snort again rather loudly.

“Didn’t think so,” Merlin grumbled as he got up and mentally prepared himself for lugging Arthur’s body down the hall and into his not so royal bed.

“Come on you oaf,” Merlin huffed as he circled his arms under Arthur’s armpits and around his chest before heaving him upward. With a loud thump Arthur’s feet hit the floor as Merlin managed to drag him off the sofa with a grunt or three.

“I’m not built for this,” Merlin hissed as one of Arthur’s feet caught on a piece of furniture and snagged the future King, almost causing Merlin to topple backwards. With a vicious tug Merlin managed to unsnag Arthur and continue making his way slowly down the hall, dragging the unconscious body with him. It’s not as if the warlock ever had to worry about being fit, just being around Arthur for a day was already reawakening muscles he had forgotten he had. Awoken them with screams of outrage, but awoken them nonetheless.

As Merlin unceremoniously dumped Arthur’s snoring form into his bed, his Royal head not quite on the pillows and one leg completely not on the bed, Merlin felt something pop back into place in his body. He couldn’t tell if it was a physical pop or if it was a metaphorical pop, but regardless it happened and Merlin caught himself sighing out loud. As the warlock went to straighten himself so as to make his way to his own longed for bed he found he was stuck, quite fastly. Looking down Merlin saw that Arthur had a death grip on the kerchief he had tied around his neck, a raggedy old thing of at least a decade or three. Merlin tried to release Arthur’s grip on the red fabric but eventually gave up and simply untied the knot in the back. Once the accessory was free from Merlin’s neck Arthur moved in his sleep, drawing the hand clutching the neckerchief to his chest and almost under him as he got into a more comfortable position.

“Royal Prat,” Merlin whispered as he gave up hope on the piece of fabric and turned to make his way to his own bed just down the hall.

As Merlin curled up under his covers, his clothes tossed lazily in his bedroom hamper, he felt something inside him break open. Without cause or known reason Merlin started to cry, softly. As he curled around in on himself and his tears Merlin couldn’t for the life of him fathom why he was in fact crying. Was he sad? Happy? He couldn’t tell. But something inside him needed to weep and so weep he did, letting whatever it was cleanse and come out. Merlin’s hand crept up to his neck as his tears continued, seeking the familiarity of his neckerchief, the outwardly sign of his past that he kept with him. The thing that made him feel safe, made him feel like himself. Only his hand came into contact with nothing, for it was not there like it usually was. With an undignified sloppy snort and a wipe of his tears Merlin cracked half a lopsided smile as he remembered it was clutched in his Royal Prat’s hands just down the hall. With another undignified sniffle Merlin turned in his bed so as not to sleep on a tear soaked pillow and tried to will himself to sleep. He had what he had wanted for centuries, that hole in his heart had a roommate again so why was he crying? Merlin pondered this and the many other things that always seemed to weigh a modern warlock’s mind down as his eyelids began to gain weight. It was a losing battle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To all of you lovely people reading. . . you make my world brighter and my fingers move faster across my keys!!!
> 
> Here you go S. . . a brand-sy new chapter!
> 
> I hope that the lightness of this chapter makes up for its length everyone!!!


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes love lasts forever even if it's one sided.  
> Here is the story of Merlin, his life after he was cheated out of his passage to Avalon and the one person he ever truly loved.
> 
> Forever is an awfully long time when one has to live it alone.  
> Even if one is the greatest warlock that ever lived.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize profusely to all of you incredible people for the long wait you've all had to suffer through.  
> I got a wicked virus on my laptop and only now just got it back with a clean bill of health and was finally able to get back to writing!!!
> 
> So I hope you all enjoy this new chapter!!!

It wasn’t the ocean sun battling down his window that woke him, it was the sudden release from his dream. A dream of crystal blue laughing eyes, perfectly crooked teeth and an Adam’s apple that danced to some rhythm Merlin couldn’t remember as the dream faded from his mind’s eye. He found it odd, in some far corner of his mind, that he was still dreaming about Arthur when the real thing was but down the hall snoring away. But something woke him from his dream and it wasn’t the sun. The more a portion of Merlin’s brain pondered the question as he slowly woke the more he realized what it was. Actually it was a combination of two things, the sea breeze gently blowing through his open window across his naked flesh and the feeling of being watched. It was the realization that the breeze was touching his naked flesh that registered with the warlock first. He hadn’t realized he had gone to bed naked, while something he did normally it had been something he had consciously thought to avoid with Arthur now in his home and in his life. But apparently last night had been too much for Merlin and he had slipped into old habits, slipping out of all his clothing before sliding between his crisp sheets. The smooth sheets felt glorious against the warlock’s skin and Merlin found himself stretching out to allow more of it to come in contact with his body, pressing himself into its folds. The more he stretched, the more what little of the blanket that was covering him wriggled down his body, exposing more of him to the breeze and sunlight. Merlin’s sleep clouded brain reveled in the feeling until that last reason for his awakening struck him, the feeling of being watched.

“Did you know your backside is incredibly white Merlin?” Arthur’s crisp voice broke through the remainder of sleep in Merlin’s head, snapping him almost completely   
awake all at once.

“Arthur! What the fuck?!” Merlin exclaimed rather loudly, his voice breaking, as he scrambled to cover himself. Course all he managed to do was flail about the bed before he fell off the far side, all the while Arthur stood in his doorway laughing at the floundering warlock.

“And it’s quite shapely. If I didn’t know it was you sleeping there I would have mistaken your backside for that of a woman! Do you enhance it with your magic? Or do you just naturally have lady parts?” Arthur teased as Merlin scrambled about as he stood, trying to cover himself with a sheet or something.

“I do not have _lady_ parts Arthur,” Merlin huffed as he tried to fight the incredibly intense blush that was battling to not only stain his cheeks and ears, but his neck and chest as well. He took a step or two backwards, hoping that by creating some distance between himself and the person only just recently the object of his dreams his blush would dissipate.

“Oh come now _Merrr_ lin, don’t back _awaaay_ ,” Arthur drawled as he stalked closer to Merlin. Stalk was definitely the perfect word Merlin decided, because there was no other definition for what Arthur was doing as he advanced on Merlin. His knees slightly bent, moving slowly and cautiously as if not to frighten Merlin like a scared animal. Merlin felt a slight twitch pull at the corner of his mouth at the familiar line Arthur spoke, a reference back to when they had first met even if Arthur didn’t remember it. But that pause to fight the smile was all Arthur had apparently been waiting for. With a quick dash, reflexes only a true fighter could have, Arthur snapped the sheet Merlin was desperately trying to use to cover himself out of his grip. Merlin yelped as he tried covering his not so unnoticeable morning wood from Arthur’s gaze.

“Not lady parts after all!” Arthur guffawed loudly and Merlin scrambled about, flinching at Arthur’s loud outburst and laugh.

“I do believe that is two for flinching,” Arthur chuckled as he twisted the sheet in his hands into a whip cord before flipping it out towards Merlin.

“One!” Arthur called out loudly as his newly acquired weapon came in contact with Merlin’s thigh, causing the warlock to yelp and skitter away. Merlin made for his private bathroom, hoping to make it in there before Arthur got to him for his second attack. Course dodging a power hungry would be King on a mission and covering one’s private parts was harder than hiding his magic from a kingdom out for a sorcerer's head!

“Don’t think you can out maneuver me _Mer_ lin, I’ve been trained to kill since birth,” Arthur scoffed at Merlin’s feeble attempts to dodge.

“Ah ha! Two!” Arthur shouted in triumph as he blocked the bathroom door with his body and whipped Merlin right on the ass with the his weaponized bed sheet.

“Arthur! Come on!” Merlin exclaimed, his yelp turning into more of a laugh at this point. Arthur wasn’t out to harm or hurt him, just rile him up. So while his targets may be reddened the whip of the sheet didn’t do much more than sting just a smidge. It was more alarming and embarrassing for Merlin then anything else.

“Uncle! Uncle!” Merlin laughed out loud, forgetting his morning erection as he momentarily lifted his hands in mock defense.

“Now _that’s_ most definitely not a lady part. Quite impressive if I do say so myself. Course I don’t have much to go on mind you, but it’s definitely impressive. Who knew you contained so much underneath your trousers Merlin!” Arthur chuckled as he motioned at Merlin;s nether regions with his hands. Merlin stopped laughing as soon as he caught on to what Arthur was not only talking about but motioning at as well. Immediately Merlin’s hands flew to his morning wood, trying pathetically to cover it with his hands. Arthur only laughed harder at Merlin’s feeble attempts.

“Stop laughing you clotpole,” Merlin coughed out in embarrassment.

“So who were dreaming about Merlin?” Arthur asked slyly as he waggled his eyebrows in a ridiculous manner.

“I wasn’t dreaming of anymore _Ar_ thur. It’s just something that happens in the mornings and you well know it. Morning wood isn’t something new of this day and age, as you yourself well know,” Merlin scoffed back, trying to regain some of his lost dignity.

“Morning _wood_?” Arthur asked confused as he tried rolling the phrase around on his tongue.

“It’s just a term for, well this,” Merlin explained as he motioned downward with his head.

“I don’t see why you’re bothering to cover it up as I’ve now already seen it,” Arthur said with a bored sigh as he took a moment to look around the bathroom he now found himself standing in.

“I’m covering it up because… because… well just because,” Merlin stumbled over finding a correct answer.

“Is your bathroom bigger than mine?” Arthur asked bemused, jumping off topic on a whim.

“Yes it is. This is the master bathroom. And as I sleep in the master bedroom and it’s attached it therefore makes it mine. And bigger than the one you use,” Merlin answered rather matter of factually.

“But if you built this house for me, would not I have been the one to have the master bedroom as it is bigger?” Arthur asked as he poked about the bathroom and all it’s accessories, not knowing what most of them were.

“Well I guess… Wait. What? How did you know that?” Merlin asked dumbfounded.

“I, I don’t know. It just seemed to be floating around in the back of my head. And when talking about parts of your house it just seemed to pop into place. Was it common knowledge that you build this place for me?” Arthur asked as he scratched his head in confusion.

“Uh, _no_. No one knows who I am let alone who you are. I’ve never told a soul about the real reason for this house. So how could you… Huh. I wonder…” Merlin mused as he started to pace about his bathroom, the wheels turning a mile a minute in his head making him temporarily forget his nakedness.

“Wonder what?” Arthur asked after a few moments of naked Merlin’s pacing.

“I wonder that if when I did the spell on you, or on us as it was, that possibly some residual pieces of me escaped into your mind. That could be the only explanation for you knowing that bit about this house,” Merlin pondered out loud as he worked through the problem in his head.

“Did any other bits of you make their way into my head do you think?” Arthur asked as he stuck a finger in his ear and wiggled it around, as if to clean out his brain.

“I don’t know, only time will tell I guess,” Merlin offered with a shrug of his shoulders. 

“Right. Time. That should be interesting. Well on that note, I’m hungry. Fetch me breakfast Merlin. Though I do recommend you put some clothes on first!” Arthur called out over his shoulder as he exited the bathroom. Merlin remembered his nakedness all over again as he made to cover himself one more time, even though Arthur was out of the bathroom and on his way towards Merlin’s bedroom door.

“You do have a great backside though Merlin. Though I’d recommend getting some sun on it!” Arthur called back with a chuckle as he made his way out and down the hall.

“Ugh!” Merlin groaned as he flopped face first onto his rumpled bed. At least this morning’s hand job wasn’t going to be a sad one Merlin thought as he shifted into a more comfortable position. He slipped a hand down beneath his body, snaking it towards his now throbbing erection so as to ease his predicament.  
“Merlin! Breakfast!” Arthur’s voice called out through the entire house. Merlin groaned loudly into his bed, willing his mattress to swallow his anger and frustration as he let go of his dick and tried his best to think it away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hehehehe Arthur likes Merlin's booty!!!


	12. 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes love lasts forever even if it's one sided.  
> Here is the story of Merlin, his life after he was cheated out of his passage to Avalon and the one person he ever truly loved.
> 
> Forever is an awfully long time when one has to live it alone.  
> Even if one is the greatest warlock that ever lived.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember that computer virus I got?  
> Remember the hell it put me through?  
> Well it ate my laptop. One huge whole bite. Made it useless.  
> And I didn't have the money to buy a new laptop until very recently.  
> So I hope that you all can forgive me and stick with me as I hop back on this horse called Merthur!  
> Love you ALL!!!

“There. Food. Eat,” Merlin grumbled as he shoved a plate in front of Arthur before sitting down with his own identical one.

“What is it?” Arthur asked as he poked and prodded the food in front of him.

“It’s breakfast,” Merlin replied with a sigh as he cut into his own matching breakfast, allowing more air to reach it to cool it off faster. Once it was cut, the yolks pouring out and soaking into the perfectly golden toast, Merlin reached for the prepackaged fruit salad and dished some out onto his plate before doing the same to Arthur’s. Regardless of whether or not Arthur actually wanted any.

“I get that it’s breakfast. But what _is_ it?” Arthur asked as he continued to poke at his food.

“It’s called Egg In A Basket, Arthur. It’s just an egg cooked inside a piece of toast. Now eat it before it goes cold or I’ll make you make your own breakfast tomorrow,” Merlin replied as he picked out the purple grapes without looking from the fruit salad he had dished onto Arthur’s plate. Years of servitude to a person left certain marks on a human being, and Arthur’s legendary disdain for purple grapes was one of them. Arthur immediately dug in, whether it was the threat of cold food or having to make his own breakfast that kicked him into gear Merlin didn’t know. The warlock cocked half a grin as he dug into his own breakfast, it tasted all the better all of a sudden. Not quite like humble pie, or that legendary dish called revenge, but something like that.

**-xXx-**

“So what do you want to do today?” Merlin asked as he put away the last of the breakfast dishes.

“I don’t know. Nothing too intense, my body feels like it was put through the same ordeal my mind was. I don’t know how much I’ll be up to doing. Though I do understand some things better now that I’ve had a solid night’s sleep,” Arthur answered in reply.

“I could take you down to the ocean, I own a bit of private beach with this property. No one to bother us and it’s a nice day out. You do remember how to swim don’t you?” Merlin asked with a tease?

“Yes of course I do you prat,” Arthur rebuked as he tossed a crumpled paper napkin at Merlin’s head, hitting him directly on the forehead.

“Well I’ll get you some swim trunks and then I’ll take you down. If you’re willing to wait a bit I could prepare a picnic lunch so we wouldn’t have to come back early just so we could eat,” Merlin offered as he picked up the napkin to throw it out.

“Swim trunks are what you wear to swim in these days correct? I just hope it is not a, a uhmm, oh I can see it in my mind. A speedo? A tiny little red thing? Ghastly,” Arthur replied with a shiver.

“Yes swim trunks are what we wear to swim in the ocean. No I don’t own any speedos so you’re safe there. Go occupy yourself while I get this ready,” Merlin explained with a sigh as he waved his friend out his kitchen once again and began to mentally prepare the spell he would need to get this picnic lunch done quickly and on his own.

**-xXx-**

“Arthur? Arthur?” Merlin called out through the house as he searched for the future King, holding an extra pair of swim trunks in his hands.

“Arthur where the bloody hell have you gone?” Merlin grumbled as he rounded a corner into his den. 

There sitting on a smaller sofa was a completely still and silent Arthur, his mouth hung open as he stared forward. In front of him the television was on and playing an infomercial on one of the public stations. He was completely and utterly in rapture, not even noticing when Merlin approached him and tossed the spare swim trunks on the sofa beside him.

“Arthur!” Merlin called loudly, startling his best friend back into reality.

“Merlin it’s like _magic_! You’ve shrunken people until they’re tiny enough to fit inside this box and they are trying to sell me things like in the market! It’s brilliant! I don’t know what any of this is really, or why you would need a device to chop so many kinds of vegetables into so many different shapes and sizes, but this is quite fantastic! Though if you were going to expel this much magic for entertainment I would have thought you’d pick something a bit more fun than a marketplace,” Arthur exclaimed before turning back to the television.

“It’s a television Arthur and once again it’s not magic, it’s science. And something most definitely I did not create, if I had I’d be even richer than I am now. But television is something we’ll tackle later, tonight even if you’d like. What I’d really like to know though is how you turned it on in the first place,” Merlin spoke aloud in a perplexed manner.

“I don’t know really. I was wondering about your house, waiting for you to be ready and came across this small room. When I saw the, uhh, remote? Yes, remote. When I saw the remote I knew what buttons to push all of a sudden, as if something clicked inside my head. So I pushed the buttons and then this box,” Arthur explained.

“Television,” Merlin interjected with a correction.

“Yes. Television. And then this television turned on and I had thought you had conjured magic to entertain me!” Arthur exclaimed happily. Merlin simply shook his head at the bewilderment and awe on Arthur’s face.

“Put your trunks on Arthur and meet me in kitchen,” Merlin sighed with a grin as he turned to leave the den and Arthur.

“Umm, Merlin?” a confused question came from behind Merlin. Merlin turned to see a confused looking Arthur, holding the trunks out before him towards Merlin, completely lost.

“Do you need help dressing?” Merlin asked with the lift of an eyebrow.

“Merlin, you helped me dress back in my, our, time. Why would think I would understand clothing of this time?” Arthur asked perturbed.

“Arthur, swim trunks are one of the easiest things to put on in this day and age. But you do point out a big problem, we need to get you new clothes. Or any clothes at all, other than the scrubs you’re wearing. And I’m going to have to teach you how to wear it all. That’s the back by the way,” Merlin offered as he watched Arthur hold the trunks up against his lower body before holding them out to stare into them. At Merlin’s explanation Arthur turned the trunks around so the back was no longer facing the front.

“I’ll be in the kitchen waiting,” Merlin supplied with a chuckle as he finally left for honest this time.

**-xXx-**

“Merlin…” Arthur’s came pitifully from behind the warlock as he finished packing a hamper of things for the impromptu beach excursion. Merlin turned and did his best not to laugh at the distraught look on Arthur’s face as he breached the kitchen entrance and made to stand by the table.

“Are you laughing at me?” Arthur asked just as pitifully with a undertone of annoyance.

“No you cabbage head, I’m merely finding mirth in the situation itself. How you ever existed without me is beyond my mind’s capability to ponder. You’ve got the trunks on backwards!” Merlin finished, laughing as he noticed the tag of the swim trunks sticking up quite lewdly against Arthur’s stomach.

“That would explain the uncomfortable uhm...situation I am currently having. I’ll be back in a minute,” Arthur sighed before leaving the room once more, to fix his problem Merlin figured. Merlin went back to finishing his packing, food things, beach things and as he was putting the last of the items away safely he realized he had no shoes for Arthur to wear. And at that thought Merlin didn’t know if he wanted to laugh or to cry. Arthur’s whale sized feet would not by any means fit into the warlock’s own shoes and for that he wanted to laugh, the image of Arthur trying to squeeze into his thin shoes only to make them explode comically. But then the realism of the situation hit home after that, that Arthur did not own any shoes of his own nor anything for that matter except for the items the asylum had bequeathed him. Pitiful items of little worth and scarce volume at that, and that is what drove Merlin to the thought of tears. Clothes, Arthur needed clothes. And things, lots of things. Things to hold, to keep, to collect and call his own. Everyone needed _things_.

“I feel ridiculous,” came Arthur’s voice once again as he entered the kitchen on shuffled feet.

“You’ll get used to the clothing in time, believe me. There is a lot, uhm… _less_ clothing now then back then. Less things to lace, unless you’re into that type of thing,” Merlin explained as he shot Arthur a sideways glance. “The clothing is sturdier, less theatrical. After a little practice you’ll soon be dressing yourself with ease with no use of me anymore,” Merlin finished sadly.

“Hmmrr, if you say so,” Arthur answered unconvincingly as he poked and prodded at the drawstring now in its rightful place up front.

“For now I’ll just have you wear your shoes from when I got you until I can get you your own, luckily once we get to where we’re going we won’t be needing shoes anymore. Here, throw this shirt on and then come back and help me with these baskets you giant oaf,” Merlin teased as he threw an old t-shirt Arthur’s direction. He had hoped to hit his future King in the face with it but the clotpole’s reflexes hadn’t been dulled any in his long absence in Avalon, Arthur smoothly caught it with a Royal pout before he slid smoothly into it. Merlin gave himself a few fleeting moments to drink in the half naked man before him, his head covered as it caught in the shirt, an visage old and yet new to him all at the same time.

“ _Mer_ lin I do believe you are shrinking your clothes on purpose just to spite me. Are you going to help me with this infernal contraption or are you just going to stand there and gawk?” Arthur commanded though a bit muffled by the fabric of the shirt. Merlin instantly blushed at the idea that Arthur had caught him staring but he knew that not to be true. Arthur was just being Arthur, assuming that if Merlin wasn’t immediately helping him with something then he must just be standing around gawking at dust motes in sunbeams.

“Stop struggling you dollophead!” Merlin chided and laughed as he tried his best to help his struggling friend who wouldn’t stop wiggling and working against his efforts. With a final grunt Arthur’s head broke free of the shirt and he managed to shimmy the rest of it down his golden torso.

“This will never make sense,” Arthur sighed in dismay as he tried righting himself in the foreign clothing. The timbre behind his words touched something inside Merlin and he couldn’t help but reach out and brush some hair off of Arthur’s face ever so softly.

“It will in time” Merlin sighed quietly with a half smile hanging from his lips. Arthur’s face softened ever so slightly as Merlin let his fingers linger on him, his mouth hung slightly open and when the softest of breath escaped as Merlin’s fingers made to curl again in his blonde hair the warlock was brought back to earth so to speak.

“Basket!” Merlin spoke abruptly as he turned and picked up his own so as to be able to gather himself. Change of subject, change of subject!

“Is the beach far? Where we’re going that is?” Arthur asked as he slipped on the lace-less shoes from the asylum and picked up the remaining basket and odd items left on the table.

“Not at all sire,” Merlin replied in kind as he made for the door.

“Are we riding or taking that um, that uh… -that motor vehicle of yours?” Arthur asked as he stumbled over the words his brain was trying to provide for him, his still lingering fear of cars making it even harder for him.

“Car. And yes we are. It would be just as easy to walk but we have all these things and I’d like to get you clothes later, even if just the most basic of basics, and that will require going into town. Besides, I think that once you get used to it you’ll enjoy driving in a car very much. It’s like riding a racing horse, only faster. Quite exhilarating,” Merlin supplied as he picked up his keys and held the door open for the once and future King. Arthur simply shook his head and made his way outside into the summer sun and air.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright it was a little filler-ish but those types happen on occasion!  
> I needed to get myself rolling again so to speak and this was it!  
> I do hope you liked the little quips and quirks I was able to squeeze in!  
> More to come!  
> Love you ALL!


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes love lasts forever even if it's one sided.  
> Here is the story of Merlin, his life after he was cheated out of his passage to Avalon and the one person he ever truly loved.
> 
> Forever is an awfully long time when one has to live it alone.  
> Even if one is the greatest warlock that ever lived.

“So, what do you think?” Merlin asked as he put the car into park and looked over at his passenger. Arthur’s knuckles were a bit white where they gripped the interior of the car, his jaw a bit clenched but over all he seemed outwardly better than the last time Merlin had brought him to the car for transport, at least _this_ time he hadn’t needed to knock him unconscious to get him into it!

“I think, I think it was, uhmm… fast,” Arthur managed in a broken reply. Merlin let himself chuckle out loud at that, the simply strained response from his always King.

“Very good Arthur, very poetic of you,” Merlin chuckled as he got himself out of the car to make his way to the popped trunk to retrieve their items for the day. 

“Well at least your ability to laugh at me hasn’t diminished over the years, you’re a useless toad of a servant Merlin!” Arthur chided royally as he shakily made his way out of the car as well.

“The uncountable times I saved not only your life but all of Camelot’s as well begs to differ,” Merlin chided in return.

“And yet the utter inability to shine my armor or take care of _any_ of the chores I set to you for that of a simply manservant speak otherwise,” Arthur cracked back just as smoothly. Merlin simply snorted in reply quite un-adult like as he closed the trunk of his convertible.

“You know one of these days I’d like to hear about all of these times you supposedly saved the day,” Arthur spoke honestly, a tone of curiosity behind his words. Merlin simply nodded in return as he slipped his feet out of his flip flops.

“Shoes,” Merlin supplied shortly with a nod towards Arthur who simply stared at the warlock in utter confusion. Merlin gestured at Arthur with the large beach bag he held open in his hands as he simultaneously stuck his bare feet out towards his friend. Arthur must have caught on because he awkwardly stepped out of his shoes and bent to pick them up before depositing them in bag Merlin held open.

“Now let’s go wiggle our toes in the sand and act like it hasn’t been thousands of years since we’ve seen each other and that you hadn’t recently been resurrected like something out of myth,” Merlin supplied with a childish grin as he held out a basket and items for Arthur to take.

**-xXx-**

“ _Mer_ lin, there is no _way_ I am getting in this _ocean_!” Arthur called out petulantly from his spot at the edge of the ocean.

“Don’t be such a prat and just go in!” Merlin laughed in response as he placed down the last of their things on the huge beach blanket he had spread out across their secluded section of beach. Merlin shed his own outer layers before turning to stare at Arthur, he simply shook his head and sighed at the sad sight before him. With a sigh Merlin went up to join him at the edge, water breaking over his toes as he stood beside Arthur.

“There are no fairies to pull you under, nothing under the depths trying to drown you,” Merlin supplied in reassurance.

“Are there any fairies at all anymore?” Arthur asked as he found himself further in the water, it now lapping above his ankles.

“I don’t think so, at least not here anyway. The only thing magical around here is me. I’d like to think that maybe they exist somewhere else in the world, little pockets of hidden fairy hills where this world hasn’t changed,” Merlin offered wistfully.

“It’s still so strange to hear you talk about your magic so plainly,” Arthur spoke as he stared off into the horizon, as if completely unaware that the ocean now lapped above his knees.

“It’s strange for me too, but in a different way. I haven’t had someone to talk to about it in a _very_ long time, not since everyone passed on and I left Camelot. There really wasn’t anyone I could speak to about it, especially after the dragon left. So it’s nice to have someone to speak plainly about it with,” Merlin laughed.

“Merlin when exactly did we get so far out into the water?” Arthur asked suddenly as a wave crashed up around his chest.

“You’ve been walking beside me this entire time,” Merlin pointed out.

“I thought _I_ was the one that was blindly followed,” Arthur chuckled.

“Maybe it’s a case of the blind leading the blind,” Merlin offered with a shrug.

“Well, last one completely wet has to muck the stables!” Arthur called out before diving into the ocean, making sure to splash Merlin in the face with his feet.

“Arthur!” Merlin sputtered as he spit out salt water. “There are no longer any horse stables to be mucked out!” Merlin called out in exasperation as he looked around the empty ocean with a sigh. 

“At least not at this house,” Merlin chuckled softly to himself before diving in after his King, if only to make sure no mermaids suddenly appeared with a taste for kingly flesh. 

**-xXx-**

“So people fly now? In these aeroplanes? All over the world?” Arthur asked as he took a bite of the sandwich Merlin had prepared.

“Very good! You’re getting a handle on this!” Merlin cheered as he reached into one of the hampers and pulled out a bag of chips.

“What is that?” Arthur asked when Merlin ripped open his bag.

“Crisps?” Merlin answered in reply as he shoved a handful into his mouth. Arthur looked at Merlin, then the bag and then back at Merlin, deploying the full Royal Pout until Merlin handed the bag over with a sound of exasperated disgust. Arthur greedily explored the bag, pulling out a handful of them, bringing them to his nose.

“I wouldn’t do…” Merlin started to warn Arthur only to have Arthur start coughing all over the place, dropping the chips onto the blanket. “They’re salt and vinegar flavored,” Merlin finished flatly. Arthur continued to gasp and sputter as he exhaled the fumes and chip remnants he had inhaled.

“You poor, poor baby. This is what you get for being a greedy guts. Let’s try this again but with simple, plain crisps instead,” Merlin teased as he tossed a second bag of plain chips, this time finally catching the king of cat like reflexes unawares, the bag crinkling delightfully as it made contact with his face.

Arthur warily eyed the unopened bag now lying before him on the blanket, like it was some magical beastie that was liable to spring on him at any moment. Merlin chuckled to think that somewhere in the back of Arthur’s mind he was stopping his hand from twitching to grab a sword he no longer wore to slay the evil bag of chips.

“Here let me open them for you, you big baby,” Merlin laughed as he opened the plain bag of chips and handed them to Arthur. “Eat!” Merlin spoke as he gestured before taking back his salt and vinegar flavored ones, with which he shoved his face full.

Merlin watched with internal glee as Arthur warily picked out one chip from the bag before him and brought it to his face to sniff it cautiously. When it didn’t cause him another violent reaction he carefully placed the single chip into his mouth and began to chew. Merlin grinned quite broadly when a look of pure joy took over Arthur’s face and the future King dove into the bag for more to shove into his mouth quite un-Royal like.

“These are delicious!” Arthur exclaimed loudly through a mouth full of half chewed chips, spewing soggy particles of fried potato everywhere. That was it, it was all Merlin could take. A fit of giggles, un-befit someone of his ancient age, burst forth from Merlin, knocking him flat onto his back as his body shook with unbridled laughter he hadn’t felt in centuries.

**-xXx-**

“How did we lose one of my shoes? You really are a horrible manservant Merlin,” Arthur sighed dramatically.

“Yes, let’s blame me shall we. Just like old times it is,” Merlin grumbled as he pondered where exactly the missing shoe could have gone.

“Well the establishment clearly says no entry without shoes or shirt Merlin. And I assume the other shops are same and the such,” Arthur pointed out as he pointed towards the sign on the door that said just that.

“Well as always I’ll just have to figure it out on my own. Stay here Arthur, I dare think of what trouble you could get into so newly brought to this time and age,” Merlin spoke before walking into the store, the single remaining shoe clutched in his delicate hands.

“Sit!” Merlin called out over his shoulder before he entered the kitschy tourist shop.

**-xXx-**

It took Merlin longer than he thought it would, lifting flip flops from their various bins so he could match it to the single shoe he held. He felt like he was stuck in some odd variation of a Cinderella tale, comparing shoes to find the matching pair. Eventually he found a pair not only the right length but the right width as well, and when he left the store with his cheap purchase under his arm he breathed a sigh of relief to see Arthur where he’d left him. He had been terrified that Arthur would wander off and be lost to him all over again. But there he was, sitting on a bench with his mouth hung open as he gawked at all the strange things passing him by. It was then that he realized that maybe taking him clothes shopping at this point in time wasn’t the smartest idea, he could see Arthur’s eyes glazing over and a panic setting on him. With caution Merlin approached him.

“Let’s go home Arthur,” Merlin spoke softly as he laid a hand to rest on Arthur’s shoulder, causing the once and future King to jump. Arthur looked up at Merlin with glassy eyes and simply nodded his head yes before rising to follow the warlock back to the parked car, not once mentioning his still bare and sandy feet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes you just get overloaded.  
> When things were going so well too!


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes love lasts forever even if it's one sided.  
> Here is the story of Merlin, his life after he was cheated out of his passage to Avalon and the one person he ever truly loved.
> 
> Forever is an awfully long time when one has to live it alone.  
> Even if one is the greatest warlock that ever lived.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for the lack of updates, when you're working 14 hour days with days starting at 5 am and "ending" at 10 pm there really isn't much time left for writing. Much less anything else that constitutes using brain power.
> 
> But work is back to normal and so am I ladies and gents... so buckle the hell up and prepare for regular updates every other week as normal!

Merlin led the silent and seemingly overwhelmed Arthur into his house, silently leading him into his new bedroom where he took up his old role as manservant. He stripped the unresponsive Arthur, sliding him into the scrubs he had worn before, before going to run the man a bath in his adjoining bathroom. When the bath was steaming and well on its way to being full Merlin made his way back into the bedroom only to find Arthur sitting like a lifeless doll except for the barest movement of his fingers as he played with the corner of Merlin’s old red neckerchief. Merlin had forgotten he had left it here the other night, gripped tight in his Prince’s hand as he slept.

“Come on, up you go,” Merlin gruffed as he lifted Arthur up and led him into the steam filled bathroom. With as much dignity as he always used he stripped Arthur down, something he normally didn’t have to do back in their heyday, and placed him into the tub as gingerly as he could. His body wasn’t used to hauling the weight of Arthur around like he used to, he could feel muscles pulling and straining under the familiar yet unfamiliar work of his past.

“Don’t drown yourself Prat,” Merlin said in jest before leaving the bathroom to go about doing the things he needed to do. Of which first required the use of a computer, the likes of which he did not have on him at the moment. Arthur simply replied with a half hearted grunt and Merlin figured that was as good an answer as he was going to get at the moment.

Merlin made his way into his own room and sat about working the spell he would need to conjure his laptop all the way from his penthouse in London. It was an easy spell, conjuring an object from another room to where one was, the distance was just a bit farther than normal. Still, it must be done and so Merlin set about the task as quickly as possible.

When the laptop had finally popped into existence on the floor before him Merlin allowed his body a moment to sag in on itself before he leaned forward and opened the infernal device. He had Arthur’s scrubs with him on the floor as well as the still unused flip flops from earlier, he planned on using these few items to purchase Arthur the most basic of clothes. Once Arthur was more adjusted he would see about taking him out for a _real_ shopping excursion. The momentary thought of Arthur attired in a perfectly tailored Armani suit, fitted in all the right places, led Merlin to a place of daydreaming. The attire of this day and age was going to suit Arthur quite nicely, Merlin could see it in his mind’s eye, though he was going to miss some of the things from the time of Camelot. Like that damn red shirt.

With a shake of his head Merlin brought himself back to his task at hand, flipping through webpage after webpage. He needed to accomplish things without fantasies making his life a thousand times more difficult.

**-xXx-**

When Merlin had finished his spending spree and all of it’s difficult choices, because he had no real idea if Arthur was a boxers or briefs kind of guy, Merlin set about making dinner. He figured it best to stick to food’s Arthur would recognize, no chili’s or sushi, simple yet elegant food from a time long since passed but still fresh in Arthur’s mind. Merlin started with chicken, stuffed with dates and currants, saffron, cinnamon, cloves and ginger to be stewed with a beef marrow broth. Rough multi-grain bread was set to rise in a bowl covered with a towel while Merlin set about making honey butter, not a common staple of most dinner tables but one of Arthur’s favorites. When the butter was finished Merlin moved onto preparing venison, homemade horseradish and mustard to be placed on the venison skewers before he grilled them. He set utensils a flourish making heathen peas on their own while he frantically searched through one of Gaius’ old books looking for a recipe for custard pie since he was pretty sure he would bomb horribly if he even attempted to make fruays. It had been too many years since he had attempted to make food from his own time. Traditional French cuisine? He could do that. Carve a radish into a ornately detailed representation of a Chinese dragon? No problem. Indian food? Merlin knew several types of curries and loved making paneer when the mood struck him. But the thought of messing this meal up was going to give Merlin heartburn.

As food was set to cooking, various spoons stirring on their own to maintain consistency, Merlin realized he hadn’t heard a peep from Arthur since he had dumped the man into the tub. That had been over two hours ago and the house was silent except for the sounds of bubbling food. Not only that, but the only clothes Arthur owned were currently sitting in a pile in the living room next to an abandoned laptop so this raised several questions in the warlock’s mind. With quiet footsteps Merlin made his way back towards the bathroom where he had left the blonde man.

“Arthur?” Merlin called out softly as he rapped on the door to the bathroom. The bathroom door opened ever so softly and Merlin found himself walking into an empty bathroom. The tub was still full but Arthur and one of the large towels were absent from the now steamless room. Just as quietly as had entered Merlin left the bathroom and went towards the future’s kings current bedroom. 

“Arthur?” Merlin called out in front of the partially ajar bedroom door. There wasn’t much of any sound coming from the room but Merlin could finally hear Arthur’s breathing. With a sigh that he had finally found him Merlin let himself into the bedroom to be greeted by the sight of Arthur sitting on his bed in the dark staring out his window.

“Arthur?” Merlin asked again, this time softly as he approached him from the back.

“Arthur?” Merlin asked harder this time when the ancient king of Camelot didn’t respond. Was he sleeping sitting up wrapped in his towel? Was he under some form of spell?

“Hey,” Merlin called out softly as he stretched out a hand to rest it on Arthur’s shoulder. The barely clad man of Merlin’s past barely moved a muscle at the touch, though his eyes did finally seem to flutter into focus.

“Hey,” Arthur croaked out, his voice sounding like he hadn’t used it in eons. 

“Hey, I cooked some dinner, some things you might actually remember. Actually I’m pretty sure I murdered all the dishes horribly, the fact that I haven’t burned down the kitchen yet is a surprise to me. But if you let me get you some clothes and can meet me in the kitchen I’ll feed you. And I can guarantee that if the food doesn’t kill you it will make you feel better, if only because it has filled your stomach. So let me go get you some clothes,” Merlin offered as he stood to leave his friend. Arthur offered no outward sign that he had heard and understood the warlock but Merlin knew him well enough to know that he had heard him. Sometimes years of servitude to a man brought about that type of hidden knowledge, a vast understanding of a person’s quiet invisible reactions to something. An understanding that made two people closer than family or siblings, closer than lovers. And yet, as Merlin found himself at his closet already to rummage through things long packed, he realized- not quite close enough.

“Here is something for you to change into,” Merlin offered as he placed the folded sweats and t-shirt, the one he hoped would fit the tall blonde, onto the bed next to Arthur. “I’ll go get dinner ready. And remember, the string goes in the _front_ ,” Merlin teased as he left the room in an attempt to lighten the mood. It must have worked because this time Arthur offered a coughed grunt that was probably supposed to be a laugh. With a smile on his face the warlock left room to set the table for dinner now that he knew a royal ass would be sitting in one of the chairs in attendance.

**-xXx-**

“Merlin?” Arthur’s voice wavered out over the sounds the warlock was still making as he went about setting up dinner.

“Hey, hold on a sec,” Merlin called out from where he was crouched digging around in a cupboard. “Ah ha! Here it is!” Merlin crowed as he stood with a platter in his hand. With a shity grin Merlin went over to the oven with his new platter in hand to transfer the stuffed and stewed chicken onto it.

“Come on, let’s eat,” Merlin goaded as he turned to face the still slightly dazed looking Arthur with a smile on his face as he lifted the full platter up to Arthur’s eye level, using it to motion the future king towards the dining room table he had set.

“Did you make all of this Merlin?” Arthur asked in awe as the two of them got to the heavily laden table.

“Yup! It may not taste exactly how you remember, but everything here you should be used to eating. If I remember correctly,” Merlin offered with a self deprecating laugh at the end.

“Why did you go to all of this trouble? I could barely get you to _bring_ me my food back in the day, how did you even know how to _prepare_ all of this?” Arthur asked in awe, a hint of a tease in his question.

“Ha, ha,” Merlin fake laughed. “I may not have worked in the kitchens when I inhabited Camelot, but times after I left did force me into many a kitchen not too long afterwards. And Gaius kept wonderful recipes amidst all his other books! Combine that with my love of food and my extensive culinary background… well I think I may have avoided ruining the food to the point of food poisoning!” Merlin chirped sarcastically with a twinkle to his eyes.

“Shall we?” Merlin asked as he motioned towards the table, his eyes glowing golden orange as he magicked two chairs from the table. As he raised his eyes to meet Arthur’s he knew his own must still be glowing because Arthur’s widened when they met.

“I’m sorry,” Merlin spoke softly, letting his eyes drop down to his feet immediately. He had gotten so used to hiding his magic from every living being he came across in all his lifetimes and he had momentarily forgotten how new it was to Arthur in truth. The idea of being able to be open about it with someone who knew momentarily clouded his judgement and now he just felt awful at seeing Arthur’s reaction. It was one thing for them to talk about it, for simple magics to be going on in Arthur’s presence, it was a whole other thing entirely for Arthur to witness the change that came over Merlin when he was in the throws of it all.

“Don’t apologize,” Arthur said softly as Merlin felt a gentle hand rest itself on his shoulder. Merlin didn’t want to look up again too soon just in case his eyes were still reacting, though he felt no active magic running through his body anymore.

“Hey, look at me,” Arthur demanded softly. His tone and volume soft, but there was just enough of a hint of the _Royal Command_ behind it all that Merlin looked up out of habit. Merlin slowly let his eyes meet Arthur’s.

“There. See? That wasn’t so hard was it. I’m sorry I reacted like that. It’s just been so long since I’ve watched your face when you’ve done anything magic based. Do your eyes look like that every time you use magic? Does it last the entire time the spell is in effect?” Arthur asked kindly but curiously.

“I guess it’s true, you never really saw my face when I performed magic. And they do change every time I cast a spell, but it’s only temporary. If they lasted the entire time a spell was active I would’ve been found out long(i) before I told you when you- when you were…” Merlin trailed off, unable to finish his sentence.

“When I was dying,” Arthur smirked, causing Merlin to lock eyes with him again. “Much better. Can you do it so I can see?” Arthur asked curiously and Merlin couldn’t help but roll his eyes.

“What would you like me to do?” Merlin finally asked as he gave in to the Royal Pout he knew was going to come if he didn’t hurry up and give in.

“I don’t really care, I just want to watch your eyes change this time. To see what it’s really like,” Arthur answered honestly.

“Alright,” Merlin answered before muttering words he knew Arthur wouldn’t understand, keeping eye contact except for the second or two he looked at Arthur’s chest. He knew the moment Arthur noticed the change because his own sky blue pupils widened and his breath hitched in his throat. He immediately wanted to look away but he had said he would do this for Arthur, so do it he would.

“Wow…” he heard Arthur draw out as he felt the magic leave his body. He smiled at Arthur and almost lost his ability to stand when the future king rested the hand that had been on his shoulder on his cheek instead. Arthur’s thumb rested just below Merlin’s right eye, his hand almost cupping Merlin’s face. It was all Merlin could do to continue breathing, his throat swallowing over and over again.

“So what exactly did you do?” Arthur finally asked, his hand falling away from Merlin’s face.

“Your shirt is blue,” Merlin answered lazily, Arthur looked down at his chest and huffed a small chuckle.

“So it is!” Arthur replied with a half smile as he picked at the hem of his shirt, plucking at imaginary fuzz.

“Shall we eat?” Merlin finally asked after swallowing excessively, pointing again towards the set table.

“As long as you promise it won’t kill me,” Arthur said with a smirk hiding behind his now focused eyes. Merlin snorted in response and walked towards the table, rolling his eyes as he shouldered past his best friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this makes up for work giving me the short end of the stick!


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes love lasts forever even if it's one sided.  
> Here is the story of Merlin, his life after he was cheated out of his passage to Avalon and the one person he ever truly loved.
> 
> Forever is an awfully long time when one has to live it alone.  
> Even if one is the greatest warlock that ever lived.

“Here, hand me that plate,” Merlin said as he held his hand out and motioned towards the table. Arthur sighed and grabbed the plate and handed it over.

“I’m sorry, is helping with the dishes beneath you?” Merlin asked with a perfectly raised eyebrow.

“It’s- it’s just that…”

“It’s just that you never really had to do any of the manual labor that made your day to day life possible,” Merlin finished for Arthur. Arthur simply grunted without making eye contact.

“So let’s start from the beginning with this. _This_ is called a dishwasher. It’s one of the many conveniences of this modern day and age that makes life so much easier. Gone are the days of endless hours of scrubbing disgusting dishes with rags and caustic lye soap. This lovely automatic device does all the work for us. We just load the dishes, add soap and _presto_ , clean dishes!” Merlin explained cheerily.

“Seriously?” Arthur asked skeptically.

“Seriously. Good rule of thumb is plates, platters, pots and pans along with cutlery go on the bottom. Cups, bowls and other such small things go up top. Though I do live by the rule of _if it fits, it sits_. So as long as it isn’t jammed in there to the point of obscenity so everything still gets clean it will work,” Merlin explained with a smile.

“Huh,” Arthur grunted while he grabbed another dirty dish and tried his hand at placing it in the dishwasher.

“No, here. Best place for that is over here. And we can place this, shit,” Merlin finished when his phone rang on the other side of the counter. He’d almost forgotten about the infernal contraption this entire time, however short a week it had been.

“Mindy what is it?” Merlin asked, automatically flipping into company President mode. Mindy knew not to call him here unless it was strictly necessary, like the type of necessary that couldn’t be handled by any of his multiple CEO’s, Seth or even Mindy herself. Merlin motioned to Arthur that he needed to take the call and went to step out into the living room.

“Oh hey Arthur, once it’s full fill it with soap from under the sink. Then close it, slide the latch to the right and hit the on button,” Merlin listed off as Mindy continued to rattle off in his ear.

“On button?” Arthur asked sounding more terrified than confused.

“Yes, the on button. You do remember how to read right your Highness?” Merlin teased to which Arthur simply grunted before placing a dish in the dishwasher. Only to take it out and place it in a different spot, Merlin chuckled before leaving the kitchen to continue his phone call.

**-xXx-**

Arthur looked down at the dishes left to put into the machine and wondered if he was supposed to try and get them all in there this first time or if the thing could be loaded again. With a shrug of his shoulders Arthur rather awkwardly went back to loading only to reload again the magical dish washing machine. After he was pretty sure he had put too many things into it he turned to the… _sink_? Yes, sink. Merlin had said that the soap was under it and he only had to fill it up with soap once he was done. Opening the cupboard under the shiny sink Arthur sighed out loud. There had to be a hundred items under it and none of them looked like soap to him. With unsure hands he began pulling each item out to read the brightly colored labels on their fronts, sure one of them was the soap he needed. At least he was hoping it was going to be that easy.

“They all say they are soap!” Arthur cried aloud as he sat on the floor with multiple containers surrounding him. With a grunt that was more sigh than anything else he stood with his best option in hand. He filled the machine, lifted the lid, slid the handle to the right and pushed the on button.

“Take _that_ for knowing how to read! Ahh!” Arthur triumphed before jumping away from the magical machine. It had made a startling sound that only continued as he stared at it, it sounded like an angry beast. Taking steps away from it, though keeping a wary eye on it as he did so, Arthur decided to find Merlin.

Following the sound of Merlin’s voice Arthur found his manservant, his best friend, standing in front of a desk with one hand tangled in his hair while still talking into his… The word _cellphone_ found its way into his head as he struggled to figure out what Merlin was talking at. He watched as the warlock bent over what looked like a very much smaller version of the magical box in the living room. A television Merlin had called it. But he was pushing something in front of it with the fingers of one hand before sighing angrily and putting the _cellphone_ between his shoulder and ear so as to push things with both hands. Whatever he was doing seemed to work because he went back to holding his talking device with one of his hands. Though he picked up pacing which couldn’t be the best of signs. Arthur and his father always paced when they were trying to figure out a particularly tough problem, and Arthur figured this had to be something similar if entirely foreign at the same time.

Arthur simply watched Merlin pace, his long fingers raking through his hair over and over again as he rattled off words Arthur couldn’t even begin to try and figure out. Things like mergers, proprietaries, subsidiaries and other words that sounded like a language from a distant land. There was something different about Merlin, and not just the strangeness of this new time. Something else. He stood straighter, he spoke his words with an authority that reminded Arthur of his father in a way. Even if Merlin spoke them wearily. His steps seem to have purpose as he spoke to this person on the other end of the cell phone, someone he trusted it seemed if the set of his shoulders was any indication. And Arthur had spent many a time staring at Merlin’s back and shoulders. Arthur felt a little in awe of this change in Merlin, this new side of him. He wore his authority like a cloak he had grown use to the weight of and if Arthur were honest with himself he’d say that the change looked good on Merlin. Gone was the shy manservant whose ears were too large who always seemed to walk with his back stooped and his shoulders bent forward, constantly tripping over his own feet and words. His ears were still large but you didn’t seem to notice them when he was like this. Arthur suddenly felt very small, but not in a bad way.

Arthur found himself content to just stand and watch Merlin talk to whomever it was he was talking to even though he didn’t understand a thing that they were saying. His constant pacing was sort of hypnotizing and the way he raked his fingers through his hair was soothing. God Merlin needed a haircut!

“Arthur!”

“Huh?” Arthur answered suddenly as he was brought of his sleep like daze.

“I asked you a question,” Merlin said with a half smile as if suddenly realizing that Arthur hadn’t been paying attention to him at all.

“I asked you if…”

But Merlin never got to finish his repeated question because a horrendous sound came from behind Arthur in the kitchen. It sounded like someone had dropped a bucket of grease drippings into the kitchen fire! Spinning around Arthur almost fell as Merlin dashed passed him, his cell phone still in hand.

“Shit! Arthur!” came out of Merlin’s mouth, his back once again to Arthur as he stood between him and the monstrosity in the kitchen.

“Min, I gotta call ya back,” Merlin said before tossing his phone into the living room behind them. As if by magic, either literally or figuratively Arthur couldn’t tell as he could see Merlin’s eyes, it landed on one of the couches.

**-xxx-**

“Oh my god Arthur what did you do?” Merlin exasperated as he stuck his hands into his hair. He didn’t know if he should laugh or cry.

“Mer-Merlin I don’t… I don’t know what happened. Honestly I…”

Merlin couldn’t take it anymore, he burst out laughing. Arthur sounded like he was torn between crying un-Arthur like tears and running for hills, which was too much when combined with the sight before his eyes. There was soap absolutely _everywhere_ in the kitchen! It wasn’t up to their knees or anything but it sure as hell was all over the fucking place!

“Oh my god Arthur what did you do?” Merlin laughed as he put his hands into his hair as he turned to stare at his best friend. He laughed even more when he saw poor Arthur standing there like a fish out of water with his mouth hanging wide open, moving up and down like he wanted to speak but couldn’t find his voice.

“I did what you said. I put the dishes in the thing-”

“Dishwasher,” Merlin interjected.

“In the dishwasher,” Arthur continued, stressing the last word as he glared at Merlin before continuing. “Filled it up with the soap, pushed the level to the right and, and, and pushed the on button!” Arthur finished with a frantic wave of his hands. Merlin sniggered though tried covering it by placing a hand over his mouth.

“How _much_ soap did you put in?” Merlin laughed in question.

“I _don’t_ know _Mer_ lin, I just put it in! You said to fill it with soap so I did!” Arthur exasperated. His mood didn’t seem to be changing for the better as Merlin continued to laugh at him.

“Oh Arthur, Arthur, Arthur,” Merlin laughed out in a sigh as he shook his head as he surveyed the damage done to his kitchen.

“What do we do now?” Arthur finally asked once Merlin had dropped his laughter down a notch or two to a mere chuckle.

“Do now? Now we clean it up!” Merlin found himself answering as he waded out into the mess.

“ _Clean it up_? Can’t you just, can’t you just- I don’t know, magic it away?” Arthur asked with another wave of his hands, motioning out to the mess around the two of them.

“Why use magic when we can use our own two hands? Or four as the case may be,” Merlin supplied with a knowing smile.

“Four hands?” Arthur asked quizzically.

“Yes _four_ hands. You made this mess Arthur, you should learn how to clean it up!” Merlin answered as he magically conjured two buckets, mops and sponges. Merlin began to roll up the sleeves of his long sleeved shirt before holding out a sponge to his once and future king, a shit eating grin on his face. Arthur grasped it out of his hands with a groan before looking around hopelessly, as if he didn’t know what to do next.

“Come on _Ar_ thur,” Merlin drawled in perfect imitation of Arthur. “It can be fun I swear,” Merlin finished before flicking water at Arthur from the bucket he now had in his possession, a wicked grin on his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sassy boss man Merlin.  
> Terrible at being domestic clueless Arthur.
> 
> Hehehehe...
> 
> Also... hope you liked my little bit of Arthur POV!


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes love lasts forever even if it's one sided.  
> Here is the story of Merlin, his life after he was cheated out of his passage to Avalon and the one person he ever truly loved.
> 
> Forever is an awfully long time when one has to live it alone.  
> Even if one is the greatest warlock that ever lived

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is 3 or so days late guys.  
> I got wicked sick with a bad cold, like a really bad head cold.  
> The kind where I couldn't sit up at the angle I needed to to write because I wouldn't be able to breathe.
> 
> But better late than never!  
> And I can breathe now!  
> Mostly. . .

“I feel completely and utterly useless,” Arthur sighed as he dropped his sponge into the finally empty bucket. He was soaked, through and through he assumed, and it was only adding to his grumpy disposition.

“Well, you’re not entirely useless,” Merlin started, only to pause and give Arthur a _look_ when the once and future king made a rather un-kingly snort. “As I was saying, you’re not entirely useless. You’re just unaccustomed to this current day and age is all. We could start with something small and easy, if you’re willing to humble yourself, debase your Royal- _ness_ , to such a level where you’ll allow yourself to be taught by me,” Merlin teased.

“Ha ha, very funny _Court Magician_. I’d be more inclined to _debase_ myself to such a level if I wasn’t soaked to the bone,” Arthur chided as he wiped his wet hands on his wet clothes as if to prove some point.

“Here,” Merlin sighed with a roll of his eyes before he spoke a few words and touched Arthur’s chest. Arthur inhaled sharply at the tingling he felt over his entire body before he realized he felt warm and dry instead of cold and wet. Looking down he noticed not only were his close dry but so was the rest of him.

“That would have been super handy when we were out camping or on the road for one thing or another,” Arthur chuckled as he ran his hands down over his clothes. Merlin stood stock still for a moment, his eyes following Arthur’s hands like the green eyed monster he felt like. Lucky for him Arthur was watching his own hands, still smiling as they picked at folds of his clothes. Merlin swallowed hard and shook his head to physically ground himself back in reality.

“Yeah it would have. Would also have gotten me toasting over an open fire quicker than I could blink, and you would’ve hated me,” Merlin answered with a sad shrug.

“I wouldn’t ha-”

“Eh!” Merlin interrupted, holding up a hand to further silence his best friend. “Don’t. The past is the past. The you you were near the end, the one you are now, are vastly different than the one you were in the beginning. When we live dictates how we are molded into acting, and you had a particularly heavy role to fill. I don’t blame you. I wouldn’t trade the time I had with you for all the knowledge I’ve gained in my unending years twice over, even though I had to constantly hide who I was,” Merlin explained, hoping his sincerity came through in his words.

“Really?” Arthur asked as he suddenly looked up and met the warlock’s eyes, searching for something as they scanned back and forth.

“Of course! Arthur you were, _are_ , my best friend. I was young, looking for adventure and dragons to slay. Figuratively speaking, which is the poster child for _be careful what you wish for_ because I _so_ was not expecting that to come to fruition. But all that aside, yes. My answer is yes. My time with you before Avalon is something I will always cherish, it kept me going through my darkest decades and centuries when I felt totally alone. So don’t fret a single blonde hair of yours,” Merlin ended with a joke before he let himself get too heavy. He didn’t want to forget that this whole thing tonight had started with his need to make Arthur feel better, feel safe.

“How about we go watch some History channel, maybe to help kick start the centuries worth of knowledge I crammed into your brain that’s still dancing about, and tomorrow we’ll start with something easy. Like cooking!” Merlin said happily as he stowed the buckets on the floor off to the side of the island counter and began steering Arthur towards the main living room.

“For some reason I think this is going to involve aliens. And I don’t even know what aliens _are_ ,” Arthur stressed as he let himself be led by the now laughing Merlin.

**-xXx-**

“Alright, here’s what we’re going to do. I’m going to show you how to do each step and then I’m going to do the exact same thing beside you so if you get lost you can see what I’m doing. Make sense?” Merlin asked as he finished setting up everything there were going to need to make breakfast this morning. He had set out multiples of everything, right down to the matching cutting boards and knives sitting side by side. He looked over at the mostly awake Arthur and sighed loudly at the once and future kings bemused and skeptic look.

“Buck up, this will be easy. I’m not really introducing you to tools you’ve never used before, I could bring out implements and items you would swear were straight up magic. Much like you did that first night I showed you the toilet,” Merlin teased.

“Ha. Ha. So what exactly are we making?” Arthur asked as he unfolded his arms to drum his fingers on the counter.

“Omelettes and fruit salad,” Merlin answered matter of factually. 

“Fruit salad I get. But what the hell is an _omelette_?” Arthur asked as he poked at some jalapenos on the counter, causing them to roll about before one went off the edge. Merlin froze it in mid air before delicately plucking it from the air and placing it back on the counter before giving Arthur a glare.

“It’s an egg dish that one eats for breakfast that contains whatever you’d like to eat. I figured we’d make a pretty basic one for now so they can both be the same, for you to learn on. Sound good to your _Royal Highness_?” Merlin drawled with a roll of his eyes.

“Don’t you be judging me you clotpole, or I’ll find some way to punish you!” Arthur replied, brandishing a sausage link like a sword in Merlin’s general direction. The warlock choked on his laughter at the sight before he took the now not so innocent meat product from Arthur’s hands, a pink color staining his ears and face if the heat of his skin was any indication.

“Come. Stand beside me. We’ll start with some basic cutting, chopping and dicing skills first as that will be easiest. Here, take your knife in hand like me,” Merlin directed as Arthur came to stand beside him, taking the knife awkwardly in hand. 

“No, no. Like this,” Merlin corrected as he put his own knife down to re-position Arthur’s fingers around his knife. “This way you’ll have a better grip and I’ll worry less about you lopping off a Royal finger in the process,” Merlin teased as he reached for their first item.

“This is called an onion,” Merlin teased with a smirk.

“Ha. Ha. I’m not an _idiot_ _Mer_ lin,” Arthur snarked back before snatching the small white onion out of the warlock’s hands. “What exactly do we do with this?” Arthur added sheepishly as he put the onion down slowly on the counter. Merlin hid his laughter well as he reached for a matching onion of his own.

“First we cut off the end ends like so. And then we peel off the outside layers and throw them in the compost bin. You try,” Merlin instructed before he motioned with his knife to Arthur’s onion. Gingerly Arthur picked up his onion and did what Merlin had shown him, he may have cut off more than Merlin did when he cut off the ends but otherwise did an alright job.

“Alright. So all fingers intact still, let’s move on. I’m going to show you how to dice an onion next but what I want you to remember is that the pieces don’t have to be nice and uniform. They just have to be small enough to eat, they don’t have to be pretty. Okay?” Merlin asked as he positioned his onion for dicing and looked over at Arthur. His best friend simply nodded at him solemnly, like cutting this onion would solve all the world's problems.

“Let’s begin. Cut it in half the long way. Then place the halves flat side down and begin to make slices lengthwise like so,” Merlin instructed. With tongue stuck between clenched teeth Arthur began to mimic Merlin’s motions, keeping one eye on Merlin’s every move every few seconds before trying to copy them exactly. His hands started to slip suddenly halfway through his slices.

“Oh dear god Merlin my eyes! My eyes are _burning_! What is this onion doing to me?” Arthur sputtered as he dropped his knife so his hands could fly to his face and eyes. Merlin’s own hands quickly darted out to grasp his friends wrists.

“Don’t put your hands in your eyes you’ll only make it worse!” Merlin laughed as he physically restrained his best friend. “You prat it’s the juices from the onion making your eyes burn! Hold on, let me get you a rag!” Merlin laughed as he held Arthur’s wrists with one hand as he reached for a dishtowel so his king could stop the stinging in his eyes.

“Here. Chew on this, it will help,” Merlin chuckled as he shoved a piece of mint gum into Arthur’s mouth.

“Oh god what is this?” Arthur asked, mouth loud and open as he pressed the dish towel into his burning eyes.

“It’s gum. Just shut up and chew it, then go back to finishing your onion so we don’t die of old age before we can eat breakfast!” Merlin laughed as he started dicing the first half of his onion. 

**-xXx-**

“Ok. We managed to dice the onions, managed to not mangle slicing the mushrooms, got through the bell peppers relatively unharmed and only sliced one tiny finger with the cheese grater. For first attempts I’d say we did ok! Our eggs are ready, our skillets are hot and I’ve duct taped the oven mitt to your hand to avoid you giving yourself third degree burns- let’s proceed!” Merlin chirped happily with a clap of his hands.

“I don’t think this is necessary,” Arthur huffed as he held up his trapped hand, exhaling sharply at it’s inconvenience.

“Oh I do,” Merlin snorted before whipping out his cellphone and snapping a quick picture.

“What was that?” Arthur asked with a blink of his eyes from the flash.

“Nothing. Let’s move on to compiling and finishing our omelettes,” Merlin answered cheekily.

**-xXx-**

“I’ll do the dishwasher this time if you’ll just help me load,” Merlin offered as he started to remove everything from the table towards the dishwasher.

“Thanks,” Arthur replied warily, giving the dishwasher a leery eyed look- like he wanted to give the thing a ten foot berth.

“Thank you though,” Arthur finally spoke after Merlin had finished starting the dishwasher and neatly piling the remaining dishes on the counter for the last and final load.

“For what?” Merlin asked as he wiped his hands clean on another dishtowel.

“Does _for everything_ work?” Arthur asked with an awkward set to his shoulders and a half hearted chuckle, his eyes looking down at the floor. “For everything. For taking the time to teach me how to cook an omelette, how to crack an egg without getting it all over myself. _Eventually_. How to tell if a melon is ripe, or what the hell a cheese grater is. All of it, it’s helping me organize all the information in my head so I can continue to make sense of everything. I don’t know what I would have done if I had showed back up on the shores of that damn lake with no one to help. I’d probably have long since starved to death,” Arthur finished in a jumbled manner.

“I know, I’m pretty much god’s given gift,” Merlin replied with a cheeky grin.


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes love lasts forever even if it's one sided.  
> Here is the story of Merlin, his life after he was cheated out of his passage to Avalon and the one person he ever truly loved.
> 
> Forever is an awfully long time when one has to live it alone.  
> Even if one is the greatest warlock that ever lived.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See notes at the end for some info!

“Oh my god we did _not_ talk like that! And the clothes? What kind of fur is that even supposed to _be_?” Arthur asked in disgust. Merlin could only chuckle at the look plastered on his best friends face.

“You’re the one who opted to watch a movie about _us_!” Merlin laughed as he watched Arthur cringe again. “Isn’t it hard to watch this stuff?” Merlin asked as the thought finally struck him mid laugh, almost entirely through their third film.

“I thought it would be, or at least I thought it would be more than it has. But so far they’ve just been a good laugh and a way to look back on the only life I remember that clashes so intensely with the one I’m in now. It’s easier I guess to think of it is as a movie, especially since this time is so vastly different from our own. I don’t know, it makes sense in my head. I just can’t explain it in words,” Arthur ended lamely.

“No I get it. The first time I came across a film about our time was the beginning of the 1900’s. It was a silent film as they were back then, and even then it was only about Percival and his hunt for the Holy Grail,” Merlin explained.

“There’s a movie about _Percival_?” Arthur interjected with a snort.

“There’s a lot written about Percival actually, that first film I saw was actually based off an opera that was famous. There’s actually a lot written about _all_ of us, and if you’re ever interested I can conjure it all for you if you’d like to delve into it. Some of it is pretty enlightening actually,” Merlin offered with a smile.

“I don’t know, I kinda like the idea of gold armor and you as a woman,” Arthur answered cheekily.

“Oh god you’re disgusting! Besides, gold isn’t the best metal for armor or anything for that matter!” Merlin laughed, though near the end it came out more forced than necessary.

“Truth on that! But I’d say it was one of my better attributes. And besides, gold looks pretty good on me. It’s quite a wonderful color,” Arthur teased from his spot on the couch, long since slumped down so his head rested in Merlin’s lamp. The pillow that had once propped his head up long since fallen to the floor so he had snuggled into a better position so as to see the movies better. Merlin hadn’t known when it had happened but at some point his hand had found its way into Arthur’s hair, absently twirling strands as they had relaxed.

“I don’t know. It’s never done me much good,” Merlin said morosely, his fingers twirling tighter into Arthur’s hair without him knowing.

“But your eyes burn gold when you create magic,” Arthur replied, eyes still locked on the movie representation of their lives. Or at least how other people thought their life went.

“So much good the gold did me. Just like that suite of armor my gold couldn’t stop you from dying by silver,” Merlin sighed, his words heavy in the air as he breathed them at the top of Arthur’s head.

“Hey,” Arthur spoke softly, turning just enough to mostly dislodge Merlin’s grip on his hair so he could look up at the warlock. “You did everything within your power, magical and otherwise. There are just some things you can’t beat Merlin, and death is one of them. Though apparently we did. After a fashion. But I’m here, mostly. And so are you. And for now that should be good enough,” Arthur spoke reassuringly.

“Besides, it was better that way truth be told. I watched you almost die enough times that I know I wouldn’t have been able to handle it if it had been you. Out of the two of us you’re the stronger in that aspect, I wouldn’t have been able to go on. Mysterious worldly purpose given to me by a Dragon or not. It’s strange to think back on it, sitting here like this, but I don’t know how I would’ve survived without you back then. And if you ever bring that little fact up I’ll find some way to punish you horribly,” Arthur teased to soften his oddly sudden show of emotion.

“Aww do you _love_ me Arthur?” Merlin mocked, hoping his tone covered the lump that was stuck in his throat and threatening to make his voice break.

“Oh shove off you ego inflated court juggler!” Arthur shot back as he slapped Marlin’s hand away from his head.

“Ego inflated? _Ego inflated_? Oh puh- _lease_! If we want to talk about ego inflated I’ll just get you a mirror you ego inflated red obsessed clotpole with delusions of grandeur fighting off kittens with a plastic martini accessory!” Merlin scoffed in return as he smacked Arthur’s had back.

“ _Red obsessed_? _Delusions of grandeur_? I _wish_ half those monsters had been kittens! I’m not quite sure what a martini accessory is but I know I could beat you with my bare hands if need be even if you cheated and used magic! Ha!” Arthur scoffed, mimicking Merlin’s own tone as he turned around and placed a folded arm across Merlin’s lap so we could rest his chin on it to look up at his best friend and give him a look.

Merlin adjusted his own position, his body was reacting to having Arthur this close. It wasn’t that they’d never been in close quarters or contact before, just not like this. Not this _personal_. He slid around as best he could, mimicking Arthur’s position direction as best he could. He slid his folded leg under Arthur more until it was pressed along the back of the couch and leaned back against the armrest so he could look down full on at Arthur. Course as Arthur himself slightly adjusted his own position Merlin realized he might not have made the best move, of course Arthur being Arthur didn’t notice anything which Merlin was eternally grateful for. Merlin practiced his breathing as he momentarily focused on Arthur’s feet now swaying up in the air as he was laying on his stomach.

“Can you _honestly_ tell me you aren’t obsessed with the color red? And as you’ve been a zombie mummy thing for the past few thousand years while I’ve been carving a path through history I think I may _actually_ beat you in a tussle,” Merlin retorted with a smug look to his face that was quickly followed by a self assured smirk down at Arthur.

“Oh you _can_ can you? I’d like to see you try you scrawny stick of an immortal!” Arthur chortled as he slid ever so slightly further up towards Merlin, his chest now resting on Merlin’s folded leg instead of his head. Merlin focused as much as he could on controlling his body but having to worry about keeping his breathing controlled, willing his erection to stay at bay and making sure his face remained normal was tearing at the last strands of his self control.

“If I remember correctly, if I do this,” Arthur spoke slowly before using his fighter reflexes to use his elbows to pin down Merlin’s legs. “And place my hands here,” Arthur continued as he put his hands on either side of Merlin’s ribs, hands hovering above the fabric of Merlin’s shirt. “And then jab my fingers violently into your sides you react quite… well like this actually,” Arthur finished, his fingers flying into Merlin’s sides.

“ _Hey_!” Merlin yelped as his body thrust upwards on its own accord. Instinctively Merlin lashed outwards with his arms, knocking Arthur’s hands and arms away from his sides but also accidentally clocking him across his cheekbone.

“Oi nice swing you clotpole! While I admire your punch I do believe that means I owe you one in fair turnabout!” Arthur chuckled as he awkwardly leapt forward to knock Merlin back. The awkward angle didn’t quite work in his favor, nor Merlin’s as when the warlock went to deflect the attack the move sent the two of them flailing off the couch.

“Shit!” Merlin swore as he haphazardly tumbled off the couch and landed hard on his stomach. 

“Oomph,” Merlin exhaled, his head smacking something hard and making his eyes cross. Closing his eyes to refocus them Merlin sighed, his breath hitting him back in the face hot and smelling like popcorn. 

“God Merlin for someone so small you sure weight a ton,” Arthur groaned, his voice falling directly against Merlin’s ear. Merlin’s eyes shot open and he realized he was laying on _top_ of Arthur, his forehead pressed against Arthur’s protruding collarbone. Merlin attempted to frantically remove himself from on top of Arthur but failed when he only mostly realized their limbs were entwined and no flailing was going to separate them. Course that didn’t stop his frantic movements.

“Easy there… _cowboy_? I think that’s the saying? Just, just, for all that is holy Merlin STOP moving!” Arthur laughed as he tried to still the man above him.

“There. See? Easier when you’re not flouncing about like a fish out of water,” Arthur soothed softly, shifting till he found a comfortable position under the weight of his warlock.

“Mmmph,” Merlin agreed in a rather noncommittal way, not wanting to concede to his best friend. Besides, Arthur was rather comfortable now that no one was being crushed. He was warm and firm beneath Merlin, and the rise and fall of his chest was rather soothing even if it was moving at a rather quick pace. Merlin could see it being quite easy to fall asleep like this, the rhythm of Arthur’s heartbeat lulling him to sleep, at least if it was not racing like it was at the moment. The feel of warm smooth skin over strong taut muscle against his own… Merlin jerked suddenly off of Arthur and bee lined it for the bathroom down the hall.

“Merlin?” came Arthur’s rather confused voice still on the floor in the living room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the serious lapse in updates guys. Recently we ran into some trouble, and by that I mean trouble ran into us. We’re fine. And so because of that the money I had saved for Christmas was put to fixing everything, and because of this I am having to make my presents. Which means all my spare time has gone into that instead of writing. So I apologize not only for this long wait but also for the short length of these updates. Know that once I am done with my presents I’ll be back in force. Know that I love you all dearly and I hope you have a wonderful holiday, whichever of the ones it is you celebrate!


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes love lasts forever even if it's one sided.  
> Here is the story of Merlin, his life after he was cheated out of his passage to Avalon and the one person he ever truly loved.
> 
> Forever is an awfully long time when one has to live it alone.  
> Even if one is the greatest warlock that ever lived.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See note at the end...

“Huh,” Merlin coughed as he brought a spoonful of oatmeal to his mouth.

“What’s huh?” Arthur asked, mouth full of the most ungodly sugary cereal Merlin had been able to buy from the local grocery when he had placed his original food order. Arthur had always been a sucker for sugar and it while modern sugar cereal had been a shot in the dark Merlin figured he’d like it. Proof being in the pudding as the would be King scarfed it down by the bowl full while the warlock consumed a more adult overnight oatmeal.

“I’m reading about odd occurrences that happened on the day you came back from Avalon,” Merlin replied as he reached for his coffee. Arthur glanced at the steaming mug, a spoon magicked to stir the mug’s contents constantly, with curiosity. Merlin didn’t think the blonde was up for caffeine just yet, in any form.

“I thought you got your _news_ from that electronic flat thing,” Arthur replied as he sniffed at Merlin’s coffee once more before shrugging and returning to his cereal.

“Tablet, and yes I do. But sometimes I prefer a good ol’ newspaper. It’s what civilized people do,” Merlin scoffed as he returned to his oatmeal after turning the page of his newspaper. A coughing fit to his left drew Merlin’s attention away from his interesting finds only to find Arthur having an episode or something. “Breathe,” Merlin sighed overdramatically.

“I’m sorry, but when did _you_ become _civilized_?” Arthur laughed, mouth only mostly full.

“Centuries ago Arthur, centuries ago,” Merlin replied glumly, his friends face falling ever so slightly at his reply. 

“This coming from the man wearing milk down the front of him,” Merlin jested as he waved a thin hand at the front of Arthur that was in fact splattered with not only milk but bits of cereal as well.

“Damn,” Arthur swore as he tried to wipe it off himself with the cloth napkin Merlin had set the table with that morning. Merlin smirked into his newspaper when Arthur finally gave up and just removed his shirt all together, making to dump it on the floor but finally thinking better of it and tossing it into the laundry hamper near the kitchen.

“Good thing your first order of clothes will be here with the mail today,” Merlin said under his breath as he watched the muscles in Arthur’s shoulders move beneath his skin, memories of the night before flashing through his mind at break neck speeds.

“I wasn’t measured Merlin, how did you get clothes tailored for me?” Arthur asked as he sat down again at his remaining cereal, comfortable in his half naked state. The warlock swallowed before answering.

“Modern clothing isn’t so much made to order on an individual basis, it’s made en masse and people fall into certain size categories. Not as complicated as I’m making it out to sound mind you. So with the help of the scrubs I brought you home in, plus years performing the service of dressing you like an overgrown Cabbage Patch doll, and I was able to roughly order you the basics. There are some decisions you’ll have to make in some areas, eventually as you get more used to things now. And at some point I would like to get you actually tailored for clothes, like you used to,” Merlin replied, his eyes flashing a most non magical color at the thought of a tailoring process. Maybe he could take the once and future King’s measurements for tailors?

“No tights though?” Arthur asked warily before he tipped his bowl up to his lips to drink the last of his milk at the bottom.

“No tights,” Merlin sniggered as he went back to his paper.

** -xXx- **

“What did you find?” Arthur’s voice broke Merlin’s concentration all of a sudden.

“Huh?” Merlin stumbled in response as he awkwardly folded his newspaper into his lap. How long had the warlock been reading? What exactly had Arthur been doing this whole time?

“You said you were reading about odd things happening, though what during this time could be considered odd is beyond what I’m capable of imagining,” Arthur supplied from his end of the couch, his legs carelessly thrown up onto Merlin. When had they moved to the couch? Was that a _book_ in Arthur’s lap? And more on the table? Merlin’s thoughts must have been broadcasted across his face because Arthur let out an indignant snort before chucking the very book that had been open and laying across his chest. Merlin coughed and made like he had been merely clearing his throat to reply.

“Around the time you came back from Avalon a lot of strange things seemed to have happened around the globe. Unnatural seismic activity in places with no real shifting tectonic plates, dormant trees suddenly bursting forth into full bloom completely out of season, strange oceanic current changes and unusual temperatures, a meteor shower so intense it turned a night sky into day for an hour almost, lightning striking the same place fifteen times in a row, desert plants sending out waves and waves of pollinated spores, stock market numbers in worrisome highs and lows, though these things only seemed to be temporary. Most of them either lasted for very brief times during your return, which I assume correlates to your actual(i) arrival back in the modern age, to only lasting just the day. The ones that seemed to last the full twenty-four hours of your arrival luckily seem to be most of the lesser occurrences,” Merlin trailed off as he went to fact check something on his tablet. When he finally came up with the answer he wanted, jotting the information down on a sticky note on his tablet that he had started keeping at some point, Merlin looked up to see Arthur’s dumbfounded look.

“I caught about a third of that, I have this weird ghost in my mind like I should know what stockade market is… But I didn’t cause any harm by returning did I?” Arthur asked, sounding suddenly worried. Merlin decided to leave off his correction of stockade market for now, things were still settling in Arthur’s mind more and more each day.

“From what I’ve been able to gather over the years Arthur is that your return was never so much about your choice, but the word’s choice. I would hope that you wouldn’t choose to stay cooped up on Avalon for so many centuries. So no, nothing that happened upon your arrival back into the space time continuum was your fault. And besides a few scientists scratching their heads and some ruffled feathers I don’t believe anyone was actually hurt by your return. Except for maybe you of course,” Merlin ended sincerely. He meant everything he had said, and was pretty sure he was right too.

“Or you,” Arthur chimed in return just as sincerely as Merlin had and Merlin found himself locked in an unwavering staring contest. But not the kind you have with friends, annoying kids on the Tube or animals. This was more of the kind that was between two people who wanted the other to believe that they were the ones right. The staring contest finally ended when both of their stomachs rumbled so loud it broke through their concentration.

“Food?” Arthur asked, smile now large on his face as he looked down at his stomach and then back up at the warlock.

“I swear all you do is think about eating!” Merlin teased as he shoved Arthur’s legs off his lap ungracefully before standing and stretching.

“That’s not the only thing!” Arthur scoffed before poking Merlin’s exposed strip of stomach, right below his belly button, causing the warlock to double over. Merlin his his shudder and grin before straightening and following his clotpole of a best friend into the kitchen, afraid he might burn down the expensive house he’s built for him.

** -xXx- **

“Mindy that sounds just fine, email me the rough drafts and I’ll go over the copies tonight before sending you back my final adjustments. No, everything is fine. I’m not distracted, I’m just doing what I normally do just from a different location is all. No I’m not wasting away in the solitude desolation of the country. I’m just, hold on,” Merlin interrupted Mindy on the other line when he heard a knock at the front door. He had decided on making soup since it was a typical English summer day seaside, which is to say cold, rainy and grey. He’d even had Arthur help with the prep but the shirtless King had proven a bit distracting. He had been stirring the finishing dish when Mindy had called with work related business and so he found himself in his current predicament.

“Arthur come here!” Merlin called out when there was a second polite knock on the front door. “Just a moment!” Merlin called out to the mailman.

“Wha’?” came Arthur’s reply as he plodded back into the kitchen.

“I need you to answer the door and sign for the packages,” Merlin spoke as held his phone between his ear and shoulder, still stirring the pot of soup and trying desperately not to include Mindy in on his personal life.

“Merlin! Like _this_?” Arthur squawked as he gestured down at his current state of being, which consisted of being wrapped like a burrito in a too small blanket.

“What happened to your clothes again?” Merlin asked at the same time a third and slightly more insistent knock came.

“Breakfast. Hamper.”

“Who’s naked?”

“Fuck me! Fine, Arthur take the phone, stir the soup, I’ll answer the door,” Merlin exasperated as he shoved his cell phone between Arthur’s ear and shoulder and shoving the large wooden spoon into his hands before turning to sprint to the front door.

Arthur awkwardly hunched over the soup pot as tried to clutch the thick handle of the wooden spoon with two hands that were currently wrapped tightly in a blanket they were trying to keep closed around his bare chest. He felt like some helpless short armed large animal trying to perform a task others would find comical to look upon but he just found frustrating.

“Are you the one who is naked?” Mindy asked finally after moments of holding her silence on the other end of Merlin’s phone.

“Ahhh!” Arthur yelled in a manner most unbecoming of a future King of an entire world. Leaping back from the sudden voice, a female’s voice, in his ear Arthur watched in horror as Merlin’s phone went flying through the air. The faint sounds of “Hello? Hello?” could be heard in the air before it dropped perfectly into the huge soup pot and disappeared below it’s broth-y surface.

“Shit,” Arthur found himself cursing softly, but obviously not soft enough.

“Did you just swear?” Merlin asked teasingly as he brought in the huge shipment of boxes he had ordered. It had been a smart move to answer the door himself instead of sending his half naked best friend, the delivery man had had one of those electronic scanners that you have to sign and Merlin had had to check over all the shipping labels because the delivery had originally been one package short. Luckily it had been found in the back of the man’s lorry but still all in all it had been good that the warlock had gone and not Arthur. It had been funny though to return to see Arthur standing sans protective burrito blanket dumbfounded in the middle of kitchen. Course the soup splatters every where were a little disconcerting. Same as with the wooden spoon haphazardly laying on the floor. Had Arthur burned himself while simply stirring? Had something happened in the bare few moments he had left Arthur alone in the kitchen? Why was the blonde standing and staring at the soup pot in lost horror with his empty hands awkwardly open and empty at his sides.

“Arthur,” Merlin slowly asked as his own sudden horror and realization crept up on him. “Arthur, where the bloody hell is my phone?” Merlin asked as his stomach fell out from beneath him. His suspicions were confirmed when Arthur shakily pointed at the soup pot.

“Fuck me for fucking Christ’s sake you clotpole! Shit, shit, shit!” Merlin swore as he jumped into action, finding a ladle and trying to fish out his now irreparably damaged phone from his luckily salvageable soup.

“Mindy is going to kill me, this is my third phone this year. I’m such a complete minger,” Merlin sighed as placed his destroyed phone on the counter, ladle into the pot, before bending down to get the now dirty wooden spoon.

“I’m so sorry Merlin,” came a small voice from behind Merlin as he started to wash the spoon. Turning, the warlock found Arthur still standing in the same spot with the same stricken look on his face. Merlin smiled at his best friend.

“Don’t worry mate, I go through so many of those bloody things a year I should have invested more into their creation! Mindy is gonna be so _pissed_ when I email her and tell her I need a new shipped here. Lucky for me, and for you, she can’t yell at us over the phone and will have to do it via email. _Much_ less threatening!” Merlin chuckled as he added a pinch more salt to the soup before reaching for two bowls for whatever weird meal this was the two of them were sharing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for all of this crazy lapsed time between updates guys.  
> Life for me got pretty crazy.  
> Like bad crazy.  
> Upheaval style.  
> I busted my hand and was out of the writing game for a while, because it's kind of impossible and infuriating to type/write with only one freaking hand! And rather then get pissed at my writing and never come back to it I stepped away to heal.
> 
> But here we go again!

**Author's Note:**

> I KNOW this was awfully awfully short but it was a small introduction!  
> They will get longer from here on out!
> 
> Slow moving story.  
> Hopefully I will be updating it once a week along with my other stories and you know work and a life consisting of video games. ;)


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